My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a new horror flick on Amazon Prime set in the 1980s during the time of the satanic panic. The story takes place at a religious school when two girls go with their friends to a girls’ night in a creepy manner in typical horror movie fashion. They decide to make the night more interesting by getting intoxicated and playing around with an Ouija board. While the main group enjoys some time at the lake, Abby and Gretchen, our main characters,  decide to go out and explore a haunted house, but they bump into a creature and decide to run. While running away, Abby loses Gretchen and is unable to find her. Once Gretchen is found she is never the same, and Abby is the only one who can help her. 

I’ve never really been that into movies about possession; they’re very hit-or-miss for me. Possession movies can be overdone and a bit too easy to expect what’s coming next. Although I’ve never read the book this movie was specifically based on, Grady Hendrix, the author, is talented and a great writer. I enjoy his other works so I decided to give it a try. But the movie completely misses the mark.

Starting off with some nice things about the movie, it had a great soundtrack. It is filled with fun 80s music that makes for a really great time. The acting in the movie is good as well. Elsie Fisher is an exceptionally great actress, and I have to give props to her for being able to work with the worst wig on the planet. Fisher and Amiah Miller play off each other very well and are a believable pair of best friends. The movie itself is pretty visually and fun to look at, just as long as you don’t pay attention to what’s going on on screen.

But the movie as a whole has a lot of issues, starting off with Gretchen and Abby. They’re kind of just thrown in together, and we don’t know much about their friendship. The actresses do well and have good chemistry with each other, but there’s only so much you can do with the script you’re given. The costumes for the movie were also very Spirit Halloween-ish and were not thoroughly thought out. As a fan of cheesy 1980s movies, they do have distinct outfits that tie well with the times and plot. But the outfits in this movie looked as if you went into a costume store and asked for a last-minute 1980s costume. The movie seems as if it’s not sure if it wants to be serious or funny, which makes for a really weird feeling while watching it. There’s a lot of horror comedy, but the key to it is the mood that’s been set. The tone of this movie was all over the place. Other horror movies like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” are able to make an environment that’s creepy yet funny without those two overpowering one another. This movie could have used practical effects which would have improved it in my eyes. The CGI makes it more silly than anything, even in the parts that are meant to be tense. 

All in all, this movie was a total miss for me, but as usual, the book is probably better. I give this movie 2 out of 5 paws.