My Best Friend's Exorcism (Movie Review)

In 2016, Grady Hendrix released the novel My Best Friend’s Exorcism, describing it as “Beaches meets The Exorcist”. Hendrix introduced us to the friendship of Abby and Gretchen, two sophomores in high school who have been inseparable for the last 6 years. Until one fateful day in 1988 at a lake house when Gretchen goes missing for a few hours, only to return acting differently. She’s acting strange. She’s acting a little…demonic.

Hendrix’s book became a fan favorite. Not only was it horrifying, but it was also heartwarming. It’s easy to relate to the friendship between Abby and Gretchen, dealing with normal teenage dramas like crushes and acne. Sure, the exorcism can’t be classified as normal, but the novel paints a picture of a true friendship and love between adolescent girls. As a fan of the book, I was very excited to see it being turned into a film. With all the nostalgia-based media we’ve had lately like Stranger Things and Fear Street: 1994, I thought this was going to be an easy adaptation to the big screen.

Unfortunately, the film doesn't capture the depth the book was able to portray. I had high hopes seeing Abby would be played by Elsie Fisher, who I found to be a phenomenal actress in Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade. I was let down by her performance, mostly because it felt a bit flat. The range of emotions I saw in Eighth Grade did not come across in this film. What’s more, the relationship between Abby and Gretchen (Amiah Miller) was rushed. It’s not always easy to adapt a novel to film, things are bound to be lost in the process. But the importance of the friendship between Abby and Gretchen should not have been one of the things lost here. Don’t get me wrong, the acting is not bad by any means, but the heart is missing. I was not invested because I wasn’t given enough time to see how important friendship is to each girl.

Backing up to my discussion of nostalgia, you’d think a film set in 1988 would be filled with amazing music and colorful fashion. While we heard a few bops and I spotted a few leg warmers and scrunchies, I didn’t ever feel like I was in the late 80s. There were Trapper Keepers, see-thru phones, and lots of Aqua Net, the music and score really were lacking. This added to me struggling to stay engaged and I found myself slightly bored by the end, checking the run time to see how much longer I had until the end. And don’t even get me started on the CGI owls. If you’ve watched this, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’ve gone on about how the film is missing the fun of the 80s, and the friendship between our leads, but let’s discuss the horror. While this is meant to be seen as a horror comedy, the scenes that should ultimately be classified as scary weren’t even remotely creepy. Exorcisms, decaying cabins, tapeworms, and even a fight with a tiny demon, all added up to feeling less scary than most PG-13 movies these days.

Overall, I think fans of Hendrix’s novel will end up disappointed. The horror, humor, and heart of the novel are both missing from the film. This is a great film to throw on the background, as it won’t demand too much of your attention. But if you’ve yet to read the book and a mashup of Beaches and The Exorcist sounds right up your alley, head to your local library and get it right now. Or buy it. Whatever.