'The Devil All The Time' director praises 'unpredictable' Robert Pattinson as first trailer lands

Director Antonio Campos says Robert Pattinson delivered some ‘absolutely insane’ takes as travelling preacher Preston Teagardin in his new film The Devil All The Time.

Pattinson’s character makes quite an impression in the first trailer for the all-star Netflix film that also features Tom Holland, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke and Sebastian Stan, delivering a rousing and sinister sermon.

“There are certain performances where it almost feels like a possession,” Campos told Vanity Fair about Pattinson’s turn in the film, “and I think this is one of those performances.”

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The director says working with the future Batman star was ‘unpredictable’.

“He likes to tease you,” Campos adds. “I had a sense of what he was doing and we had talked a lot about the character, but the Teagardin that came out when we started shooting – that was the first time I saw Teagardin.”

“You have to trust the person’s going to do something good and be comfortable letting go of some of your control as a director. That’s very much how I approached Rob. There are takes that are absolutely insane and don’t make it into the movie. Rob would just go.”

In contrast, he describes Tom Holland’s approach as ‘methodical and thoughtful and sensitive’. The Spider-Man star affects a Southern accent as he fights evil forces that threaten him and his family in the first trailer which you can watch above.

“Excuse me preacher, you got time for a sinner?” the 24-year-old Brit asks during the tense three-minute teaser.

The Midwestern Gothic tale centres on the town of Knockemstiff, Ohio, where Arvin Russell, played by Holland, fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family.

A cast of sinister characters converge around him, including an unholy preacher (Robert Pattinson), a twisted couple (Jason Clarke and Riley Keough) and a crooked sheriff (Sebastian Stan).

Read more: First look at Robert Pattinson at Batman

Directed by Campos, the film spans the time between the Second World War and the Vietnam War.

The Devil All The Time also features Bill Skarsgard, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Haley Bennett and Pokey LaFarge, and is adapted from Donald Ray Pollock’s novel. Pollock also narrates the film.

It will launch globally on Netflix on 16 September.