Entangled in a mysterious relationship with her deceased Army friend, a female veteran reunites with her estranged vet grandfather at his lake house. A film by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris.

In 2016, Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Zoe (Natalie Morales) serve together in the Army as light-wheel mechanics. During their service, they form a close friendship that grows into a best friend bond.

Zoe appears to come from a difficult family background. She frequently jokes about not having a happy home to return to and suggests she might reenlist when their current tour ends. Merit, in contrast, joined the Army out of admiration for her grandfather Dale, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who served for 22 years.

One day, Zoe makes Merit promise they won’t let the war damage them mentally. Her tone is joking but her eyes aren’t when she says if Merit ever sees her in some PTSD therapy circle, she has full permission to kill her. The way Zoe sees it, that wouldn’t be living anyway.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event. This event can be life-threatening or pose a significant threat to one’s physical, emotional, or spiritual well-being. Examples of traumatic events include natural disasters, serious accidents, violent personal assaults, and combat.

The film shifts to present day. Merit sits in a PTSD support group led by Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman), where Zoe lounges beside her, rolling her eyes dramatically. As Marine Corps Sergeant James (James Bane) recounts his traumatic experience, Zoe’s impatience boils over.

Zoe blurts out that she has better things to do than listen to war stories, earning an irritated glance from Merit, who tries to quiet her. Dr. Cole, noticing the tension, turns his attention to Merit and asks if everything is alright. As the camera pulls back, Zoe’s chair stands empty, revealing that Zoe exists only in Merit’s fractured psyche, a ghost only she can see.

At Merit’s apartment, Merit receives a FaceTime call from her mother Kris (Gloria Reuben), who is in Hong Kong. Kris is worried after being notified that her father Dale was found wandering far from his home. She asks Merit to check on her grandfather at his lake house. Merit initially refuses, explaining that she has just started a new group therapy session and can’t miss it.

At the end of the group therapy session, Dr. Cole refuses to sign Merit’s attendance sheet. He asserts that while Merit explained why she joined the Army, she hasn’t shared the real reason she’s in therapy which is the point of the group. Dr. Cole warns Merit that if she doesn’t open up about her traumatic experience, he will have no choice but to inform the court that she has not completed the mandatory therapy requirements.

Merit picks up her grandfather Dale from the hospital, where Dr. Stokes (Drew Rausch) informs her that he is diagnosing Dale with early-stage Alzheimer’s. This comes after Dale was found wandering on the side of Highway 8 by the police.

After dropping Dale (Ed Harris) off at his lake house, Merit receives another call from her mother Kris. Kris orders Merit to return and help her sell Dale’s house, arguing that he is unfit to live alone. She reveals that she has already contacted a realtor and a retirement home where she plans to place Dale.

Merit visits Shady Acres Retirement Home, where her mother has arranged a room for Dale. There, she unexpectedly encounters Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar) again, after their first meeting having been at a cemetery earlier. As it turns out, Alex’s family owns the retirement home. A spark of attraction seems to develop between them, and when Alex invites Merit to join him for a drink at a local bar called the WildHorse, she accepts.

During their conversation at the bar, Merit begins to open up about her time in Afghanistan. Suddenly, she starts to stutter and experiences a panic attack, accompanied by a vivid flashback of an intense argument with Zoe. In her mind, Zoe screams hauntingly, revealing that Merit’s traumatic past runs deeper than she can easily express. Her visible fear suggests the memories are too overwhelming to articulate.

Directed by American filmmaker Kyle Hausmann Stokes in his feature debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with AJ Bermudez, My Dead Friend Zoe is a dark comedy drama inspired by the director’s two platoonmates, Luis Ramirez Jimenez and Boris Ventura, who survived five years of war in Iraq.

While each person experiences it differently, PTSD is a serious condition that can profoundly impact an individual’s quality of life, affecting their mental health, relationships, and overall well-being. In Merit’s case, her PTSD manifests as the ghostly presence of Zoe, her best friend from the Army, who remains characteristically sarcastic and prone to inappropriate jokes. This unique portrayal adds a layer of dark humor that paradoxically makes the narrative feel both heartfelt and deeply memorable.

Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales deliver impressive performances with remarkable chemistry, supported by a stellar ensemble cast including Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, and Utkarsh Ambudkar. Each actor brings depth to their roles, crafting believable and nuanced backstories.

However, the film relies on some problematic narrative techniques. The jump scare feels unnecessary, particularly since it doesn’t accurately represent the circumstances of Zoe’s death. Moreover, the fragmented flashback sequences, scattered like fractured memories, seem deliberately designed to obscure the true nature of Zoe’s demise. These scenes initially suggest that Zoe died in Afghanistan, creating a misleading narrative tension. (The film later reveals that both Zoe and Merit successfully returned to the United States.)

MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE premiered at SXSW on 9 March 2024. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 28 February 2025.