Based on director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ short film Merit x Zoe, My Dead Friend Zoe marks the feature directorial debut of the U.S. Army veteran turned filmmaker. The story centers on a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who, after returning from service, begins to hallucinate her dead best friend from the Army.

My Dead Friend Zoe had its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival where it won the Narrative Spotlight award. It was also selected to screen at the 25th Woodstock Film Festival and the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival.

The film stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Thom Tran.

Release Date

Directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, My Dead Friend Zone opens in US theaters on February 28, 2025.

Synopsis

My Dead Friend Zoe is a dark comedy drama that follows the journey of Merit, a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe, her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor, the tough love of her mother and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit’s cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That is until Merit’s estranged grandfather—holed up at the family’s ancestral lake house—begins to lose his way and is need of the one thing he refuses… help.

Reviews

Brian Tallerico in a RogerEbert.com review praised the film, writing, “A deeply personal film that comes from Hausmann-Stokes’ own experience as a vet, this is a powerful drama with a phenomenal performance at its core and another reminder that Ed Harris is one of our best living actors in its supporting cast.”

Proma Khosla in an IndieWire review gave the film a score of B, describing it as, “A visceral look at the veteran experience and the kinds of loss we can’t easily describe or process, and the isolation that comes with that.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for My Dead Friend Zoe.