A total '90s classic

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2019)

The classic, commonly used phrase is given an entirely new meaning when lawyer Keanu Reeves joins an important law firm headed by the charming, persuasive Al Pacino. Things are simultaneously too good to be true and frighteningly ominous, and before long, we learn why: Al is Satan-or, as he says in his famous, hilarious monologue, "Call me Dad."
If you like these types of movies that border on horror, but aren't too scary for the faint of heart, this one's a classic. I only hid my eyes a couple of times, during Charlize Theron's demonic hallucinations, so everyone else out there should be fine. For a perfectly devilish Halloween marathon, rent both The Devil's Advocate and The Devil and Daniel Webster. Both are just scary enough so that you go to bed with the willies but aren't given nightmares, both star very handsome men playing the Devil, and Al Pacino cited Walter Huston's performance as his inspiration for the role. It just doesn't work when the Devil isn't played by a handsome, alluring man, does it? So, Al-and Walter, fifty-five years earlier-was perfectly cast. He's very magnetic and persuasive, so it's no wonder the weak-willed Keanu falls under his spell. The Devil's Advocate is so deliciously '90s. Check it out if you've somehow gone this long without seeing it.