Hollywood as been trying to capitalize on the groundbreaking commercial and critical success of The Exorcist from 1973 by trying to make the next great movie about demonic possession. None have quite lived up to the same standard but, perhaps, the key lies not in treating the subject matter so earnestly, but poking fun at it. With that logic, My Best Friend’s Exorcism might be one of the best horror-comedy movies to come out in years.
Based on the 2016 novel by Grady Hendrix and produced by Blumhouse favorite Christopher Landon, this Amazon Prime original (and one of the most exciting upcoming horror movies of the fall season) is a love letter to ‘80s horror movies, from the era its set in, to its wicked sense of humor. It follows a pair of high school sophomores whose enduring friendship is tested when one of them begins to act not quite like herself after a strange encounter during a lakeside getaway. See who plays the BFFs in question and how you know them and the rest of the My Best Friend’s Exorcism cast in our breakdown below.
Elsie Fisher (Abby)
Playing Abby — who must take on evil, supernatural forces to save her best friend — is Elsie Fisher, whose previous experience with both the horror genre and comedy makes her a perfect choice to lead the My Best Friend’s Exorcism cast. She first broke through in the industry as a voice actor for the English-language dub of Russian children’s show, Masha and the Bear, and in the Despicable Me movies as Agnes before leading Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade made her one of Hollywood’s most high-profile and highly sought-after young talents in 2018.
As for her rising horror icon status, that really launched the following year when she joined the cast of Hulu’s Stephen King-inspired anthology series, Castle Rock, in Season 2 and leant her voice to the animated Addams Family reboot as Parker before starring in Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel as Lila. Also in 2022, Fisher landed a recurring role on Barry as Katie Harris and a starring role on the star-studded Covid-era dramedy, Family Squares.
Amiah Miller (Gretchen)
Playing Gretchen — who finds herself suddenly consumed by evil, supernatural forces — is Amiah Miller, who has also acquired some horror experience in her career already. For instance, in 2016, she appeared in David F. Sandberg’s feature-length adaptation of his acclaimed short, Lights Out, as a younger version of Teresa Palmer’s character, and played the lead of House by the Lake the following year.
The genre the young actor is even better known for, however, is sci-fi/fantasy, having played a 9-year-old version of Lauren Taylor’s time-traveler on Disney Channel’s Best Friends Whenever, a human taken in by intelligent primates in Matt Reeves’ War for the Planet of the Apes, and a young woman helping her friend find a magical cure for his mother’s illness in 2020’s The Water Man. Miller is also known for more grounded dramas like 2017’s Trafficked.
Christopher Lowell (Christian Lemon)
As Christian Lemon — an amateur exorcist who crosses paths with Abby as Gretchen’s possession becomes more apparent — we have Christopher Lowell, whose closest encounters with horror prior to starring in Amazon's spooky new comedy include guest spots on iZombie and AppleTV+’s Roar and his dark turn in the Promising Young Woman cast in 2020. Otherwise, he is best known for comedies like the military sitcom, Enlisted, Epix’s political satire, Graves, Netflix’s GLOW, and for playing Jesse in Hulu’s How I Met Your Father cast, most recently.
He made his acting debut in the short-lived coming-of-age drama Life As We Know It from 2004 before joining the Veronica Mars cast in 2006 and later reprising his Grey’s Anatomy guest role as Dell Parker as a series regular on Private Practice. His most notable additional feature-length work includes Oscar darlings like Up in the Air and The Help and his own 2013 directorial debut, Beside Still Waters, and also in 2022, he appeared n two episodes of Netflix’s miniseries, Inventing Anna.
Cathy Ang (Character Name Unconfirmed)
One of Abby and Gretchen’s friends is played by Cathy Ang, who has only been acting for a few years, but has already acquired a pretty impressive filmography prior to joining this cast. After debuting in the 2018 short, Age of Sail, the actor played a White Castle clerk on the first season of Hulu’s Emmy-nominated dramedy, Ramy, in 2019 and, the following year, voiced the lead role of Netflix’s animated sci-fi adventure, Over the Moon.
Ang’s best-known role to date, however, would have to be in the cast of HBO Max’s Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That… as Charlotte’s daughter, Lily. Soon, she will be reprising her role from the animated Harley Quinn Season 3 as Golden Glider on the villain-focused upcoming DC TV show, Noonan’s.
Rachel Ogechi (Character Name Unconfirmed)
Another one of Abby and Gretchen’s friends is played by Rachel Ogechi, who has only been acting on screen for one year. She made her debut in 2021 with a more grounded coming-of-age thriller called Tracking a Killer (also known as Tracking Frenemies), which aired on the Lifetime Movie Network.
Also in 2021, she starred in another coming-of-age drama for Lifetime called Cheer for Your Life, and also appeared in a short film called Funkboy. Next on her agenda, according to Deadline, is an HBO Max original series about lifeguards called Ke Nui Road.
Cynthia Evans (Character Name Unconfirmed)
Also starring in the cast is Cynthia Evans, who has been acting as long as some of her co-stars have been alive and might have the most horror experience of all of them. She starred in another horror-comedy period piece called Stomp! Shout! Scream! in 2005, supernatural thriller The Other Side in 2006, and landed guest spots on shows like Sleepy Hollow, The Vampire Diaries, and the Shudder-original anthology series, Creepshow.
The small screen credits she is likely better known for would be her recurring roles on DC Comics-inspired hit, Stargirl, as Denise Zarick and on the Paramount+ original sports drama, The Game, as Simone Garner. The big screen credits she is likely best known for would be the heartbreaking teen romance, Five Feet Apart, and faith-based true crime drama, The Ravine.
You just might feel possessed with thrills just by watching this cast. See for yourself by streaming My Best Friend’s Exorcism — now available on Amazon Prime Video as of Friday, September 30, 2022.
