Antonio Campos directs Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Bill Skarsård in this adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock’s southern gothic literary sensation where two generations of the town of Knockemstiff, Ohio are consumed by dark desires and zealous faith.

A montage of horrific tragedy and everyday violence. I would say Pollock’s intertwining family histories suffer from a bad case of the Monster’s Balls. If oh so much misery and weird criminality happened over a locale then surely the FBI would eventually become involved? At least these interconnected vignettes are spread over a couple of decades. And I guess if one looks at Pulp Fiction then far more happens in a few days and smaller area there than here. Still whether you want to sit through relentless, feverish, depressing brutality with no glimmer of hope or humour is your look out. It is well acted and beautifully grim, constantly. Akin to a man pouring a jar full of spiders over his head, freakish but you wouldn’t look away. The eventual succession of vigilante resolution reaches a satisfactory closure to all the random threads.

6

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