Review: ‘Devil’s Peak,’ starring Billy Bob Thornton, Hopper Penn, Brian d’Arcy James, Jackie Earle Haley and Robin Wright

April 15, 2023

by Carla Hay

Hopper Penn and Robin Wright in “Devil’s Peak” (Photo courtesy of Screen Media Films)

“Devil’s Peak”

Directed by Ben Young

Culture Representation: Taking place in Jackson County, North Carolina, the dramatic film “Devil’s Peak” features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and criminal underground.

Culture Clash: A young man tries to start a life apart from his drug-dealing father, who expects him to take over this family’s criminal business, while the father of the young man’s girlfriend is the district attorney who has been targeting the drug-dealing father in a sting operation. 

Culture Audience: “Devil’s Peak” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching convoluted and fake-looking crime dramas.

Billy Bob Thornton in “Devil’s Peak” (Photo courtesy of Screen Media Films)

The novelty of real-life mother-and-son duo Robin Wright and Hopper Penn portraying a mother and a son in “Devil’s Peak” is not enough reason to watch this dreadful crime drama with a putrid plot and subpar acting. Almost nothing in this flop is believable. It’s the type of dreck that is overstuffed with bad dialogue and ridiculous plot twists that add up to a complete waste of time.

Directed by Ben Young, “Devil’s Peak” is based on David Joy’s 2015 novel “Where All Light Tends to Go.” Robert Knott wrote the low-quality adapted screenplay for “Devil’s Peak.” Just when you think the movie can’t get any worse, the last 15 minutes are such a pile-on of utter stupidity, it will have viewers rolling their eyes more than the tweaking meth addicts who are the customers of the drug-dealing family at the center of the story.

“Devil’s Peak” opens with a scene of a terrified-looking guy in his late teens named Jacob McNeely (played by Penn), who is half-crouched behind his truck that’s parked on an deserted road. He’s pointing his rifle at an approaching car and has the stance of someone who’s expecting a shootout. The movie circles back to this scene in the last third of the film to reveal who’s in this showdown with Jacob.

Viewers will know from the beginning of “Devil’s Peak” to brace for some bad dialogue when Jacob is heard saying in this voiceover narration: “In Jackson County, North Carolina, my family name meant something. Our family was a matter of blood, just like hair color and height. By the time I was 9 or 10, Daddy had me breaking down big bags of crystal meth.”

Jacob continues, “He got them from the Mexicans through his biker buddy Ed McGraw. The auto shop was a front, where I worked with Gerald Cabe and his skinny-ass brother Jeremy Cabe. They were the ones who did Daddy’s dirty work. And everyone in these parts knew he was not the kind of man you want to cross.”

If you can get past the ridiculousness that a guy who’s being groomed by his father to be a menacing drug dealer is still calling his father “Daddy,” there’s still more phony garbage to come in “Devil’s Peak.” It doesn’t help that many of the cast members either over-act or their acting is too stiff. Try not to laugh at the cringeworthy utterings of Jacob as he continues to tell his story in voiceover narration.

“Even though they were mean as hell,” Jacob says, “the Cabe brothers were the closest thing I had to kin. Methamphetamine was a living, breathing body in Jackson County. Daddy was the heart-pumping blood in every vein in the region.”

Jacob continues, “I got a cut from the sales, like most kids got allowance. But Daddy held on to my money. Maybe it’s a life I could’ve accepted, like generations of McNeelys had done before me, But Maggie Jennings, she made it so I couldn’t.”

Viewers soon find out that Maggie (played by Katelyn Nacon) is Jacob’s 18-year-old girlfriend, who lives with her mother and stepfather in an upper-middle-class part of Jackson Country. Maggie is a “good girl” who plans to go to the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Maggie wants Jacob to go to the same university with her at the same time.

But Jacob’s ruthless father Charlie McNeely (played by Billy Bob Thornton) has other plans for Jacob: He expects Jacob to stay in the family’s meth distribution business. Charlie says to Jacob at one point in the movie: “We did not choose this way of life. It chose us. It’ll be that way until we ain’t breathing.”

And to make matters more complicated, Maggie’s stepfather is district attorney Bob Jones (played by Brian d’Arcy James), who is up for re-election and has been targeting Charlie and his gang for a major drug bust. Bob has secrets that are eventually revealed in the movie. The secrets should come as no surprise to viewers who’ve seen enough of these types of films where politicians can be just as corrupt as the criminals.

As a money-laundering cover for his drug dealing, Charlie owns and operates a mechanic shop called McNeely’s Automotive. All of the men who work at the shop, including Jacob, are really part of the McNeely drug gang. The aforementioned brothers Jeremy Cabe (played by Jared Bankens) and Gerald Cabe (played by David Kallaway) are stereotypical sleazeballs. (The story in “Devil’s Peak” takes place in North Carolina, but the movie was actually filmed in Georgia.)

One of the worst and most unbelievable things about “Devil’s Peak” is that the McNeelys are supposedly the most powerful drug-dealing family in Jackson County for generations, with the current district attorney intent on busting them. But only two cops are part of this story: Sheriff Rogers (played by Jackie Earle Haley) has been in law enforcement in Jackson County for years and knows all about the McNeely family. A junior officer named C. Bullock, also known as Bull (played by Harrison Gilbertson), is a hothead bully who likes to pick on Jacob.

Sheriff Rogers has a soft spot for Jacob’s mother Virgie (played by Wright), a forlorn meth addict who has been trying unsuccessfully for years to conquer her addiction and clean up her act. Virgie and Charlie have been divorced since Jacob was a child. Charlie is still bitter because Virgie cheated on him when they were married, but viewers will get the impression that hypocrite Charlie isn’t exactly the “faithful spouse” type either.

Virgie is currently down on her luck, unemployed, and living in near-poverty. She doesn’t have a car, but sympathetic Sheriff Rogers sometimes gives her car rides and looks out for Virgie as much has he can. The movie shows hints that Sheriff Rogers probably has romantic feelings for Virgie. Because of her drug addiction, Virgie has been in and out of Jacob’s life. Charlie has been the parent who has primarily raised Jacob. And Charlie doesn’t let Jacob forget it.

As the emotionally broken Virgie, Wright gives perhaps the closest thing to an authentic-looking performance in “Devil’s Peak.” Unfortunately, she’s not in the movie for very long (her screen time is less than 20 minutes), and her scenes consists mostly of Virgie apologetically trying to reconnect with Jacob, or Virgie defensively trying to convince suspicious Charlie that she’s not a confidential informant for the police. Virgie is openly driving around with Sheriff Rogers in his squad car, so it’s no wonder that Charlie thinks that desperate drug addict Virgie might be getting paid to set up Charlie to get arrested.

Charlie has a girlfriend who’s young enough to be his daughter. Her name is Josephine, nicknamed Josie (played by Emma Booth), and she goes along with whatever Charlie wants. Josephine shows a little bit of sassiness and occasionally talks back to Charlie, but he’s really the one in control of the relationship. “Devil’s Peak” is ultimately a male-dominated movie where the few female characters in the film just react to whatever the men are doing.

The rest of “Devil’s Peak” involves murders, a kidnapping, chase scenes and a race against time for people who want possession of Charlie’s hidden stash of cash. Thornton’s portrayal of Charlie is a caricature of a villain, with every action utterly predictable and soulless. Penn, who pouts his way through his performance, lacks charisma in his role as protagonist Jacob. And that’s a problem when viewers are supposed to be rooting for the protagonist.

“Devil’s Peak” tries to cram in too many “surprises” in the last 15 minutes of the film. It all looks so fake, because the movie makes it look like there are only two cops in Jackson County who are dealing with the huge mess that Charlie causes in this story. There are many more than two people to blame for the mess that is “Devil’s Peak.”

Screen Media Films released “Devil’s Peak” in select U.S. cinemas on February 17, 2023. The movie was released on digital and VOD on February 24, 2023.

Review: ‘Southern Gospel,’ starring Max Ehrich, Katelyn Nacon, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Emma Myers

March 10, 2023

by Carla Hay

Max Ehrich and J. Alphonse Nicholson in “Southern Gospel” (Photo courtesy of Iconic Events)

“Southern Gospel”

Directed by Jeffrey A. Smith

Culture Representation: Taking place from the 1950s to the 1980s, primarily in Alabama and Florida, the faith-based dramatic film “Southern Gospel” (which is based on a true story) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A son of a pastor goes from being a religious kid to being a hedonistic rock musician to being a pastor, and he experiences a lot of tragedy and heartache along the way. 

Culture Audience: “Southern Gospel” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching faith-based biopics that tell fascinating stories about overcoming a troubled pas, as long as viewers don’t expect top-notch filmmaking.

Gary Weeks and Max Ehrich in “Southern Gospel” (Photo courtesy of Iconic Events)

Many aspects of “Southern Gospel” are predictable, but solid performances from most of the cast members help overcome some clichés of faith-based films. This biopic of Dream Church founder Samuel Allen also benefits from having good original songs. It’s a reasonably entertaining film, as long as viewers don’t expect it to be the best faith-based movie they could ever see.

Written and directed by Jeffrey A. Smith, “Southern Gospel” takes place from the 1950s to the 1980s, mostly in Alabama and Florida. The movie is mostly told in chronological order, with occasional, brief flashbacks. Because the story takes place over several decades, the movie sometimes suffers from over-simplification of some heavy life issues. There are also large gaps in the story, which skips over certain periods in Samuel Allen’s life, such as when he struggled with his band to “make it” in the music business.

“Southern Gospel” begins in the mid-1950s, when Samuel (played by Beau Hart) is about 10 years old. He is the only child of a widower pastor named Joe Allen (played by Gary Weeks), who leads a small congregation of a fundamentalist Christian church in Alabama. Due to pregnancy complications, Samuel’s mother died while pregnant with Joe’s younger sibling, who also did not survive. Joe is a part-time pastor. His other job is as the owner of a small company called Allen’s Paper Hangers.

Samuel is a slightly rebellious child who is endlessly curious and asks a lot of questions. His curiosity irritates the teacher of his Sunday school—a stern nun named Sister Abernathie (played by Sharon Blackwood)—who is quick to scold Samuel if he dares do anything that she thinks is “sinful.” The people in Joe’s religious community and church are so strict, they don’t believe in swimming in public places, because they think wearing swimsuits could cause sexual arousal and is therefore is “sinful.” They also believe that rock music is the devil’s music.

Joe appears to be a very judgmental pastor in church. “God knows how to spot a fake!” he tells his congregation during a sermon. However, when Joe is at home, he’s much more relaxed about the church’s “rules.” For example, when Samuel and Joe are sitting together at a dining table at home, Samuel tells Joe that Sister Abernathie told Samuel will go to hell for cursing. Samuel asks Joe if it’s true. Joe replies by saying with a smile, “Sister Abernathie doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.”

Privately, Joe also doesn’t seem to mind too much that Samuel has an interest in rock music, as long as Samuel isn’t too public about it. At this young age, Samuel has shown talent for being a singer and a guitar player. Joe privately encourages Samuel to continue his passion for music: “You have a gift, son. It’s in your blood.”

Samuel’s best friend Barry Linkler (played by Kal-El White) is a big fan of Elvis Presley. Barry says about Presley: “That white boy’s got soul.” Barry tries to convince Samuel to go with him to see Presley perform at an upcoming concert, but Samuel says his pastor father would never let him go to the concert or publicly listen to rock music,

Barry and Samuel both have acoustic guitars, and the two friends practice playing their guitars together. Joe doesn’t seem to mind that either, because electric guitars are considered sinful due to electric guitars being mostly associated with rock music at the time. Barry happens to be African American, but there is no mention of his race or racial segregation at all in “Southern Gospel.” It’s a very unrealistic part of the movie, because the shameful practice of racial segregation was prevalent and legal in Alabama in the 1950s.

“Southern Gospel” establishes early on who will be the “villain” of the story. His name is T.L. Whittmore (played by Justice Leak), the church’s state overseer. T.L. is self-righteous, arrogant and vengeful against anyone whom he thinks is a “sinner” who cannot be redeemed. And you know what that means: He will become a nemesis to Samuel.

The movie then fast-forwards to Samuel (played by Max Ehrich) as a teenager in high school. He’s the lead singer/guitarist for a band, and he become fairly popular because of his talented performances at school assemblies and at local church gatherings. A classmate named Julie Ledbetter (played by Katelyn Nacon) has a big crush on Samuel, but she’s too shy to let him know. Julie has a secret that she eventually tells Samuel about: Her father William Ledbetter (played by William Gregory Lee) is an alcoholic who is physically and emotionally abusive to her.

Another classmate named Angie Blackburn (played by Emma Myers) is more outgoing and flirtatious with Samuel. Angie is the daughter of Dr. Wade Blackburn (played by Ric Reitz), a prominent medical doctor in the community. Angie invites Samuel to her family’s Fourth of July party. Dr. Blackburn, who is a religious conservative, is a little suspicious of Samuel because he thinks Samuel might be a “rock and roll” type of person. Without giving away too much information, a fatal tragedy happens, and Samuel is immediately and unfairly blamed for it.

The movie then abruptly cuts to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta in 1969. Samuel is a long-haired, drug-abusing musician in a rock band called Bama Wildfire. It’s a trio consisting of Samuel on lead vocals and guitar, Barry (played by J. Alphonse Nicholson) on bass, and a blonde hippie named James (played by Dylan Barnes) on drums. Before going on stage, Samuel takes a tab of LSD while he’s in the dressing room.

After the concert, James is smoking marijuana while driving the three of them in a car. Barry and Samuel are asleep or passed out from whatever substances they ingested. James nods off and drops the lit marijuana joint on the car floor, which catches on fire. The flames wake James up, but it’s too late. James crashes the car into a tree, and he’s trapped inside the flaming car.

Barry was in the front passenger seat, and the crash ejected him from the front window, but not without getting serious burns and cuts. Samuel was in the back seat, and he was able to get out from the car with no serious injuries. But James dies in this car wreck. And it’s another tragic and shocking death for someone close to Samuel, who is arrested because a lot of drugs were found in the car.

The rest of “Southern Gospel” shows Samuel’s journey on his path to redemption. Barry remains a close friend, but he is struggling with his own personal demons, as he becomes an alcoholic. Sometime after the car wreck, when Samuel is trying to turn his life around, he sees Julie performing in a church. They reconnect, start dating, get married, and have two children together. None of this is spoiler information, since it’s all in the “Southern Gospel” trailer.

However, the movie shows how Samuel, Julie and Barry deal with their personal traumas. And it’s a very rough road in many ways. Samuel also has to decide if he wants to continue being a full-time musician or become a pastor.

Throughout the 1970s, Samuel and Julie start performing Christian rock as a touring duo, because they don’t see anything wrong with rock music being performed in churches. It’s an idea that’s a little too radical for some fundamental Christians. Samuel and Julie get a lot of resistance and criticism for performing rock music, including from T.L., who’s still acting like he’s the overlord of everyone else’s morality.

The movie’s best-acted scenes are those that show the friendship of Samuel and Barry after that fatal car accident. There are some heartwarming and harrowing moments that truly show the highs and lows of this brother-like relationship. Nicholson and Ehrich are very convincing as longtime friends who share good times as well as painful memories.

The romance between Samuel and Julie is less convincing, as much of it looks like a fairy tale that’s sometimes marred by Julie being haunted by memories of her father’s abuse, and Samuel experiencing inner turmoil over his own personal problems. However, Ehrich capably handles portraying the myriad of emotions and life phases that Samuel goes through in the movie. Nacon is perfectly fine in her performance as Julie, which doesn’t require as many transformative qualities as the role of Samuel.

“Southern Gospel” writer/director Smith wrote several of the original songs that Ehrich (as Samuel) sings in the movie. Many of the songs aren’t award-worthy but they’re catchy and are well-placed in scenes where the musical performances enliven this occasionally dull film. “Southern Gospel” actually has very little gospel music and has mostly Christian rock/pop music.

The makeup and hairstyling for “Southern Gospel” fall short of excellence. Samuel and Julie still look like they’re in their 20s when they’re supposed to be in their 40s, while the wigs they wear in some scenes look terribly obvious. Those are minor flaws that don’t take too much away from “Southern Gospel,” which ends exactly the way that you think it will end in a movie about someone who founded a church after going through some rough and troubled times.

Iconic Events released “Southern Gospel” in select U.S. cinemas on March 10, 2023.

Copyright 2017-2024 Culture Mix
CULTURE MIX