by A.J.
Night 10: Teenage Horror Night
"Dollars to donuts it's demonic possession."
This is a nice blend of horror and comedy though it leans
firmly towards comedy. It might not be exactly scary, but it is fun. The story begins as more of a light comedy about teenagers
Abby and Gretchen, best friends despite their different socio-economic
backgrounds. Gretchen (Amiah Miller) is from a well-to-do family. Abby (Elsie Fisher) attends their private parochial school on scholarship. Gretchen's
family is preparing to move and that makes Abby anxious about their future as
friends and her future without Gretchen by her side. Those concerns get pushed
to the background after a terrifying night in the woods. Along with their friends Glee (Cathy Ang) and
Margaret (Rachel Ogechi Kanu), and Margaret's obnoxious boyfriend, Wallace (Clayton Johnson), they take LSD, but Abby and Gretchen wander into a
dilapidated cabin, rumored to be haunted. Gretchen is attacked by someone, or some thing, but they are not sure what was a hallucination and what was real. After the attack, Gretchen's behavior changes and this is
when the movie switches gears to horror. At first Gretchen is withdrawn and strung out, then she
seems to gain confidence and a new mean personality. The change in her personality and the cruel, hurtful acts she inflicts on her friends happen gradually and believably in scenes that add tension and the supernatural, specifically demonic possession to the story. The final act, that is the exorcism, is horror-comedy and
even gets goofy thanks to Christopher Lowell as Christian Lemon, the youth
minister bodybuilder performing the exorcism. This gear switch will either work
for you or it won't. By this point I cared enough about the characters to want
to see their story through and hoped things worked out for them (you can never
tell with horror, even a horror comedy). The few scenes with special effects
are well done. One CGI effect in particular is as strange as it is grotesque. Setting this story in the
1980’s is not exactly a weakness but it is unnecessary. There are the benefits that a pre-internet and pre-cellphone
time period affords a horror movie and Abby and Gretchen would have more of a
challenge remaining in touch if one of them moved away, but the 80’s setting
seems mostly for superficial throwback nostalgia. Also, none of the characters speak or act like teens from the 1980's (except for Wallace, whose gross sex-obsessed dialogue is spot on for that kind of character). However, aside from the
soundtrack, the other elements of the film (script, production
design, costumes) do not revel in nostalgia. The epilogue cards for each
character at the end of the movie, are probably the most blatantly 80’s
throwback element, but they fit with the movie’s fun nature.
Elsie Fisher and Amiah Miller have great
chemistry and their performances are the highlight and greatest strength of the
movie. Fisher is great as the shy and meek Abby, who has such a big heart she
can never fully give up on her friend. The real tension of the exorcism is how
she is going to stand up to an evil demon and save her friend. Amiah Miller
does a good job of playing Gretchen at every stage: good natured teen, a person
in distress, and demon possessed. My Best Friend's
Exorcism belongs in the same vein as the meta-horror movies Happy
Death Day and Freaky (Christopher Landon, the director of those
movies, is a producer here), though it lacks the self-awareness that helped
make those movies so much fun. Here, the fun comes mainly from the performances
and a willingness to be silly in certain scenes. Director Damon Thomas and
writer Jenna Lamia, adapting the Quirk Books published novel by Grady Hendrix)
have made a movie that is most of all about friendship and that is why it works
no matter the genre.
My Best Friend's Exorcism is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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