I'm not immune to the plethora of horror film texts these days that look to the decade where I came of age--the 80s--with cultural nostalgia. For me, it's largely the needle drops, for my tastes were formed by postpunk and new wave music from that period. Likewise, I'm drawn to horror centering on women protagonists, so Damon Thomas's recent adaptation of Grady Hendrix's novel, My Best Friend's Exorcism, hits many of the marks. The film zeroes in on Abby (Elsie Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller), best friends in the emotional hellscape of high school, who along with their two buds, Margaret (Rachel Ogechi Kanu) and Glee (Cathy Ang), head to a girl's night of fun at Margaret's parents' summer cabin-in-the-woods. Of course, the girls decide to pull out the Ouija board and see if any spirits are around, but initially their only surprise visitor is Margaret's crass and excessively horny boyfriend, Wallace (Clayton Johnson). Oh, and the 5 of them decide to take LSD--although it never actually appears to work. Abby and Gretchen decide to check out an abandoned and supposedly haunted house in the woods, because 80s horror film vibes, but are soon separated by a presence mimicking their voices and leading them astray. I'm not giving too much away to say that something strange happens to Gretchen.
While I'm sure viewers will read My Best Friend's Exorcism anyway they want, I could not help but be charmed by how adorably queer Abby and Gretchen are--even while trying to fit in to the requirements of girlhood circa 1988. I mean, they both want to "marry" Boy George, for goodness sake, but Abby kindly is willing to relinquish The Culture Club lead singer to Gretchen, as long as she can just live with them both. Their friendship has a heartbreaking time limit though, for Gretchen is moving two states away with her snobby Christian parents. This note of melancholy hovers over the entire film as Abby tries desperately to help Gretchen at every turn. Meanwhile, Gretchen's transformation through possession hits very few original notes. She basically becomes a mean girl to all of her friends, and hurts them in a variety of personal and creative ways. What happens to Margaret is the most disturbing, and gets some good gross-out moments into the film.
I keep telling other people that have lived through the 80s, that culturally, in many ways, we're right back to where we started. Fear of nuclear annihilation because of Russian aggression? Check. Prejudice and hatred toward gender fluidity and non-normative gender performance? Check. The rise of the religious right and their endless culture war? Check. Fierce fighting over women's bodies and reproductive health? Check, Check, Check!!! Yet, My Best Friend's Exorcism's approach to Evangelical Christianity is relatively gentle and amused in its critique, especially when it comes to The Lemon Brothers and their zeal for Jesus. Unsurprisingly, they are hired to "perform" their literal song and dance at the private religious school to which Gretchen, Abby, Margaret, and Glee attend, espousing the pleasures of "faith" and "fitness." The Brothers are a trio of Himbos that run around, lift weights, and shout about religion with delight. Yet, when Christian spots the sulking Gretchen in the crowd, his face turns from pleasure to horror, as he seemingly witnesses something lurking in her depths. Since he possesses "the sight," when Abby searches him out after employing every other avenue to help her best friend, he tells her of the demon within. The pair decide to go back to Margaret's parents' cabin and perform an exorcism.
Once the exorcism is underway, the focus on Abby and Gretchen's friendship veers a bit, as Christian's humorous approach to exorcising demons takes center stage. Of course, when things get messy, he freaks out and runs away, leaving Abby to her inevitable standoff with the demon. Then....things just kind of end. Full disclosure, the last half hour of the film gets tedious, and you'll want to stick around to find out what happens, but there are no shocks or twists involved. While the film is a fun riff on Heathers with exorcisms, unless you're plugged into the 80s nostalgia train, and willing to take that ride, the film is not very groundbreaking. Still, it's fun, and streaming on Amazon Prime.
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