Let The Devil in: Eli Roth reveals why Tommy Sullivan’s story was the one that had to be told

Let the Devil In takes viewers into the horrifying case of one of America's most bizarre crimes. The series follows the disturbing tale of 14-year-old Tommy Sullivan, who spirals downward after the shocking murder of his mother, an affair that would leave her dead at the hands of her son before he attempted to take his own life.

With a sinister blend of deliberate pacing and cinematic miniatures, this documentary dives deep into a tragedy that once held a community captive and, in the process, reveals the chilling reverberations of the satanic panic that ran through the late ’80s. Let the Devil In attempts to find the emotional echo of a town forever defined by unfathomable violence. Revisiting the sombre winter night when the unimaginable took place, the show makes room for the survivors, the muted voices, and the memories that have remained the same.

Eli Roth explains why Let the Devil In had to tell the terrifying story of Tommy Sullivan

Eli Roth, who serves as both executive producer on the project and creative collaborator, spoke with Russ Milheim for The Direct about the inception of Let the Devil In. He shared that the story of Tommy Sullivan was the catalyst for the series because of its uniquely disturbing nature and local resonance. He quoted:

"It was this story that sparked it, and it really—it was Brandon Morgan, who'd done a podcast about this... And it really blew up because he lived there. He grew up there. He was in the same class as Tony Sullivan, who's the kid who brutally murdered his mother, set fire to the house, and took his own life. And there are so many strange things about the case."

Roth went on to reflect on how this case came to embody the irrational paranoia of the era:

"The story is crazy, and when you look at how he died, it's not clear. It's not just very clear that he killed himself, but this town is still scarred by what happened in January of 1988 and a lot of people who refuse to talk to the podcast, listen to the podcast, and heard how great it was, and they came out, and it's the first time you're speaking about it."

He talked about his own teen memories of wearing Iron Maiden T-shirts that branded him as a potential deviant in his community, saying:

"I was very much like what everyone saw as the candidate to be the next person is going to, like murder their parents."

He added that the town remains haunted, with no one willing to speak about what happened, deepening the trauma and fear that the case has ingrained in the minds of the local public.

When will Let the Devil In premiere?

Let the Devil In debuts on MGM+ on August 31, 2025, at 9:00 ET/PT. The four-part documentary series is directed and showrun by Danielle Franco, with Eli Roth, Branden Morgan, Anneka Jones, and more as executive producers.

The series promises to offer intimate interviews with community members, law enforcement officials at the time, and individuals who knew the Sullivan family, providing insight from their perspectives on everything from superstitious dread to probes of a darker, more human reality. Roth talked about Let the Devil In, saying:

"So for the first time, people who you know after—Tommy's best friend growing up, who kind of grew up in his house, people that absolutely refused to speak to the media back in 1988 and have never spoken about it, were like, 'I need to set the record straight, and I want to talk about this.'"

Let the Devil In will ask the audience to explore the different explanations that have been provided over the years about the terrifying case, with some saying demonic forces took hold of the young boy, while others argue that much more familiar and equally tragic psychological forces were at work.

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