Movie Director Finds Film Set Fortune in Rural Alabama
As the Netflix adaption for Donald Ray Pollock’s “The Devil All the Time” nears its release, Antonio Campos, the film’s director, tapped the goldmine that is rural Alabama while scouting for a perfect place to set his new psychological thriller.
The trailer for “The Devil All The Time,” a novel originally written by Pollock, was released on Aug. 13. An ominous mix between gothic noir and the rural backwoods of postwar America, this film follows a slew of sinister civilians as they become intertwined in each other’s lives while pushing the boundaries of their devout faith to unholy extremes.
According to the film’s narrator, “How and why people from two points on a map without even a straight line between ‘em can be connected is at the heart of our story in Knockemstiff.” The movie spans over a period of 20 years, beginning just after World War II’s conclusion and ending with the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.
Although set in Ohio and West Virginia, the movie was mainly shot in Alabama. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the film’s director, Antonio Campos, talked about how Alabama’s landscapes are fairly untapped in the world of location film scouting.
"It was a challenging shoot just because there were so many locations and we were really spread out over a large portion of northern Alabama," said Campos. "The nice thing is Alabama hasn’t been filmed in very often, so it’s not as recognizable as some other places that have been filmed in and photographed thoroughly by various films and TV shows."
“The Devil All The Time” is not the only film that has recently taken advantage of Alabama’s fairly unexploited topography. The Alabama Film Rebate (Section 41-7A-1 through Section 41-7A-48, Code of Alabama 1975), which awards qualified production companies up to $20 million a year in tax incentives, has sparked interest for a growing number of filmmakers to set their stage in the Yellowhammer State.
Other production companies have also utilized this tax incentive to make their films in Alabama. Some other pictures that were recently shot in Alabama thanks to the film rebate program are: “The Friend,” “Hell on the Border,” “Selma,” “Arkansas” and “Just Mercy.”
In the same interview with Entertainment Weekly, the film’s star, Tom Holland, felt shooting in Alabama brought a “rural, visceral vibe” to the film’s production.
The trailer, with eerie instrumentals and an unsettling tone, enthralls the audience with gripping suspense. If the film’s plot doesn’t already have the viewer instantly hooked, the star-studded cast certainly will. Talents like Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, Eliza Scanlen and Jason Clarke bring the chilling nature of their literary characters to life on the silver screen.
“The Devil All The Time” is set to premiere Sept. 16 on Netflix. Stay tuned to this site and station for more details about the film’s release.