![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/devilsheader.jpg\")
Warner Bros.<\/p>\n Warner Bros.<\/p>\n
Based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman, The Devil’s Advocate came out in 1997 with a sterling cast (Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron) and an ingenious premise: what if the Devil was operating on Earth as a high-powered lawyer? A slyly subversive, intelligent mash-up of The Firm<\/a> and Faust with a heaping of Paradise Lost on top, The Devil’s Advocate<\/a> \u2014 now with a new, long-overdue 4K upgrade from Shout Factory<\/a> \u2014 was a glossy cinematic freakshow that dressed up sleazy horror hijinks in a flashy, expensive suit.<\/p>\n Reeves stars as Kevin Lomax, a Florida defense attorney. His ruthless, winning ways attract the attention of a New York City law firm run by the charismatic yet morally questionable John Milton (Pacino), whose outfit represents clients of dubious character. Kevin and his wife Mary Ann (Theron) move to a posh Manhattan apartment, but as Mary Ann struggles to acclimate and Kevin spends more and more time at the firm, a series of strange, terrifying occurrences lead Kevin to realize who Milton really is \u2014 and what he wants.<\/p>\n How Was The Devil\u2019s Advocate Received Upon Release?<\/p>\n With a critics\u2019 score of 65% and an audience rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>, The Devil\u2019s Advocate fared decently upon release, becoming a consistent viewer favorite over the years. Reviews at the time suggested that its 143-minute runtime was a little long, but critics were dialed in with the movie\u2019s craftsmanship, premise, and Pacino\u2019s flamboyant performance.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go in expecting a brazenly hokey, in-your-face portrait of evil, and that, I’m happy to say, is just what you get,\u201d said Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly<\/a>, while Variety<\/a>\u2019s Todd McCarthy opined that the film \u201cbubbles over with a nearly operatic sense of absurdity and excess.\u201d Most reviews seemed to land in the same general area, with critics either appreciating the movie\u2019s unapologetic tone or denigrating it as a shallow bag of tricks.<\/p>\n With the horror genre not doing much to distinguish itself during the mid-1990s, The Devil\u2019s Advocate was an exception. A decently-budgeted, star-driven, high-concept thriller designed to attract adult audiences with plentiful gore, nudity, and eroticism (this is very much an R-rated effort), the movie sits between the more lurid, low-budget kind of horror exemplified by slasher films and zombie gut-munchers and classier, tonier genre fare like Rosemary\u2019s Baby or The Omen.<\/p>\n With director Taylor Hackford (Dolores Claiborne) showing a firm command of the film\u2019s shifting tones, which combine legal melodramatics and dark satire with horror pyrotechnics, The Devil\u2019s Advocate might even be a precursor of the \u201celevated horror\u201d trend that came of age in the 2010s and 2020s. There\u2019s even a bit of generational trauma thrown into the stew, as Kevin discovers that his connection with Milton is more familial than he knew.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the film\u2019s sly combination of trashy scares and social critique that makes The Devil\u2019s Advocate so memorable. Mary Ann finds herself increasingly uncomfortable with the materialistic wives of the firm\u2019s top lawyers, while Kevin breaches the law to defend one of the firm\u2019s top clients, a Trump-like NYC real estate developer accused of murdering his wife and child (incidentally, Trump\u2019s real-life, gold-plated apartment in midtown Manhattan played the developer\u2019s pad<\/a>). All of this, combined with Milton\u2019s magnetic amorality and the increasingly horrific visions that plague Mary Ann and Kevin, creates the sense that the legal profession is indeed Satan\u2019s best venue to manipulate humanity.<\/p>\n Reeves gives one of his more underrated performances, while Theron is heartbreaking. But Pacino dominates the film. Coming at a time when he was alternating between more subtle work in films like Donnie Brasco and outsized bombast in Scent of a Woman, Pacino goes for the latter here, chewing up all the scenery in sight but giving us one of the best Satans in film history. His closing speech to Kevin about God\u2019s rules (\u201cLook, but don\u2019t touch\u2026 touch, but don\u2019t taste!\u201d) is one for the ages.<\/p>\n Aside from what\u2019s certain to be a striking upgrade of the film\u2019s already richly textured compositions from the original camera negative, the new 4K UHD release of The Devil\u2019s Advocate<\/a> from Shout Factory doesn\u2019t contain any new features. It does, however, retain a previously issued selection of deleted and extended scenes, and commentary from Taylor Hackford.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/devils1.jpg\")
Charlize Theron joins the long list of legal thriller wives who have a bad time. | Warner Bros.
\nWhy Is It Important to Watch The Devil\u2019s Advocate Now?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/devils2.jpg\")
Pacino, seen here in one of his more restrained moments. | Warner Bros.
\nWhat New Features Does The Devil\u2019s Advocate 4K Blu-ray Have?<\/p>\n