My Best Friend's Exorcism

Its a take on my generations typical scare genre, a case of excorsism, devilworship and girls coming of age flirting with the ouija board, at a pyjamaparty when caretakers takes a late night bartrip, and leaves the teen alone at home.

Its also a sting of irony on the issues of sexuality, elaborating anorexia, in a more or less sugarfree story, with not much above average acting from well known female cast, and as innocent pupils of a catholic high school they swear unreasonably far too much.

The dressing code and script is without doubt written and sewn together by people that hasnt lived through the 80's, the best hit must be the dedicated musical score and a few moments of real fright but not enough for a grumpy old man like me. It might as well stay outta the silverscreen theaters because it lacks the heart and mind of the 80's.

I thought this was okay but nothing memorable. I loved the book which was fun and retro but also genuinely creepy. The film didn't capture the essence of the book for me, or if it did it was a watered down version that was lacklustre. Everything these days seems to be trying to be a Stranger Things, or at least that's how it feels. This film just didn't feel that fresh and also wasn't remotely scary which was missing the point. Also, who was the target market as it felt YA? The book was about teens but definitely an adult read. I think it could have been so much more, like why not be a full on campy horror like Drag Me To Hell or just something that would be a fun ride. Not just another retro teen story.

This film probably has the weakest exorcism scene I've ever seen - it's the scary equivalent of an episode of Scooby Doo. A few fun bits involving Chris Lowell aside, Damon Thomas' directorial effort lacks the necessary humor and the scares. The dialogues are also not a clear reflection of the late '80s (methinks?). Elsie Fisher is a good performer, however, I felt she struggled a bit in essaying her role here. I hear this is based on a book, where I'm sure there were enough pages to flesh out the bond between the two leads, but it certainly feels rushed in the film. Amiah Miller is the only performer here who warrants a second look, and she's surely on her way to landing some splendid roles in the near future. Well, at least, the makers chose under-20-year-olds to portray high-schoolers.

'My Best Friend's Exorcism' is a horror/comedy that isn't horrifying and isn't funny. In fact it never even really feels like it is trying to be either of those things. I can think of only a small handful of times where the film attempts to get a laugh, and it never comes off. And the horror side of things is more just nastiness than anything else.

I don't really know who this film is targeted at. It isn't fun enough to be for kids. But it is nowhere near dark enough to be aimed at adults. It seems to fall into an awkward middle ground.

The characters are incredibly bland. They aren't funny or clever or sexy or inspiring. No energy is spent building them into anything at all. Every one of them could basically be the same person.

Without spoiling anything, there is a decision made at the end of the movie to show something quite important. I can't stress how bad of a decision this was. What isn't seen is always infinitely more scary than what is seen. This did not look good and was a final nail in the coffin for this film.

The only redeeming factor I can find is that some good song choices were used. Otherwise though this was a misfire. 3/10.

I really enjoyed this book, but this movie misses the mark. I think it would've been better as a miniseries. To recap, this is a story of childhood friendship. A Stephen King says no matter how many friends or family you have in your life, you will never have friends like that again. It's also a coming of age story, and what happens as you and your friends start getting older and branching out. It's a story of high school anxiety and 80s nostalgia (Frusen Glädjé!) . And, front and center, of course it's a story about strange things starting to happen and possible dark forces visiting your hometown. Good stuff for spooky season!

Unfortunately, I don't think the story translated well here. Grady Hendrix's books are usually pretty jam-packed, so I don't see how you could cram everything into 90 minutes. It definitely felt choppy. Key scenes and characters fell flat because they didn't have enough set up. Things happened that seemed pretty random unless you knew the backstory. It felt like they were moving really fast, more like paying homage to major scenes rather than building a story that could stand on its own.

The best parts of the book- the sinister, creeping horror story build, the BFF saga, the 80s nostalgia- don't come across, and the whole thing felt rushed. I had no emotional investment in any of these people. It's the first point that bothers me the most. Why watch a horror movie if it's not even going to be spooky or scary?

Anyway, imo you're left with an empty book recap if you know the story, and I don't even know what you'd get out of it if you didn't. Maybe just a time filler movie to watch during a flight or something to have on in the background.

I really like Elsie Fischer, and she and Amiah Miller turn in good performances for what they were given. Chris Lowell too. They at least keep it watchable (if you know the story, anyway). The other actors were barely given enough material to register. Production was ok. 3 stars for the acting and for putting out a spooky movie in October.