MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM (2022)
Amazon Prime flick is based on a book by Grady Hendrix and is set in 1988. Story has best friends at a strict Catholic School, Abby (Elsie Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller) going away on a lakeside weekend together and happening upon an abandoned house. Inside Gretchen is attacked and a terrified Abby flees. When Gretchen re-emerges, Abby thinks she was raped, but it soon appears the attack was more demonic in nature. As the possessed Gretchen wreaks havoc at school, Abby is determined to free her from this demonic presence.
Streaming horror/comedy is directed by Damon Thomas from a script by Jenna Lamia based on the Hendrix book. Despite its billing as a horror/comedy Thomas seems to want to play it straight, yet the film does feels like it is going to veer into a comedy at any moment…and sometimes does. Some of the stuff, such as the religious weightlifting trio, is outright goofy while some of the horror scenes are not. The noncommittal tone doesn’t help, nor does it that we have seen it all before right down to Gretchen’s ultra-religious parents. There is some commentary on rape and how victims are not believed, as Abby is vilified when initially trying to get her friend help for the perceived physical assault. There is also a lot of fun poked at conservative religion. Thomas does have a colorful visual style, but the film never gets intense enough to be taken seriously or funny enough to satisfy as spoof or comedy. Overall, a forgettable 90+ minutes.
-MonsterZero NJ
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 