‘My Best Friend’s Exorcism’ (2022) Review: A Teen Horror with Infuriating Commentary
Damon Thomas’ My Best Friend’s Exorcism follows a young teenager trying to save her best friend possessed by the devil. Based on the book by Grady Hendrix, this movie focuses on two inseparable best friends’ friendship put to the ultimate test when one of them becomes overtaken by the devil. Set in 1988, the horror teen comedy tackles social commentary. However, topics such as body dysmorphia and misogyny are used as plot devices to drive the narrative forward rather than tackle these sensitive issues. My Best Friend’s Exorcism captures the horrific reality of young teenagers and approaches the horror elements using an old-school method that gets quite tiresome.
Abby (Elsie Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller) have been best friends since fourth grade. Despite their different religious and social backgrounds, they are inseparable. Abby comes from a low-income Jewish family, while Gretchen’s family are rich and devoted Catholics. Unlike Gretchen, Abby is on a scholarship and knows not to get into any kind of trouble, it will sabotage her future at the private Catholic school. Abby and Gretchen spend their time talking about pop star crushes but they make room for their other friends, Glee (Cathy Ang), Margaret (Rachel Ogechi Kanu) and her boyfriend, Wally (Clayton Royal Johnson). Margaret invites them over to her family’s cabin in the woods and passes out LSD to everyone.
Moments later, they decide to go skinny-dipping at the nearby lake, except for Abby, who has body dysmorphia. Abby gets teased for her looks and runs off into the woods. Gretchen follows and they end up in the abandoned cabin of a Satanic murderous cult. They decide to investigate the cabin, but things start to get weird. When an eye appears on the branches, they try to run. But Gretchen is left behind and gets snatched by a demonic spirit. When Gretchen returns to school on Monday, Abby notices that she isn’t herself and tries to rescue her friend from the entity that has taken over her body.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a homage to classic 1980s horror movies. Its artistic style and approach also feel like a horror movie only John Hughes could make in those days. While the aesthetic style flashes with retro and suburban America, Abby and Gretchen rely on misogynistic teen magazines that decide their lives’ fate. The movie points out how the magazines are ingrained with messaging that views women only concerning men.
In the movie, female characters are viewed somewhat by their male counterparts. In one scene, when Christian Lemon (Christopher Lowell), a member of a religious fitness guru group, sees Abby trembling when they lift a cross on the stage. In another instance, Abby gets publicly humiliated in front of Brother Morgan (Cameron Bass), her long-time crush. While the movie attempts to tackle these issues and challenge the internalised misogyny that teen girls would have, it fails miserably. There’s no reason this is supposed to be on purpose or satire. If that’s the case, it shouldn’t even be considered a comedy.
But things only start getting worse after that. In a streak of Mean Girls-esque moments, Gretchen tries to sabotage her friendship with everyone. She suggests a new diet for Margaret and she develops an eating disorder. Gretchen’s tactics turn deadly when she deliberately withholds Glee’s EpiPen after she has a peanut allergy and almost dies. The filmmaker’s attempts to tackle these issues and Gretchen’s self-harming scene, where she cuts herself inside a bathroom stall, are not meaningful in any way. They are used as plot devices. Because of this, it is hard to root for Gretchen’s survival.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism has some weird ideas on tackling these issues. Unlike Jennifer’s Body, an innovative and feminist movie that tackles similar themes using horror, Thomas’ movie is frustrating to watch. None of the characters ever earn the respect that they deserve. My Best Friend’s Exorcism is an iteration hopefully, everyone stays clear of.
