Zoe Lister-Jones channeled her acerbic wit into a career behind the camera, finding success with the indie (and personal) favorite Band Aid a few years ago, followed by The Craft: Legacy. At Sundance she returned to the festival with the apocalyptic comedy How It Ends, a star-studded film about one woman’s existential crisis at the end of the world.
Shot during the pandemic, How it Ends is a bizarre little film, but fitting with Lister-Jones’ offbeat sensibilities. She plays Liza, who wanders around an empty Los Angeles on her way to an end-of-the-world party. Her strange journey involves tying up loose ends with friends and family, while accompanied by a younger, more hopeful version of herself played by Cailee Spaeny.
The cast includes Whitney Cummings, Olivia Wilde, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Helen Hunt, Lamorne Morris, Logan Marshall-Green, Paul Scheer, Glenn Howerton, Fred Armisen, and many more. Lister-Jones really emptied out the Rolodex for this one.
In my review from earlier this year, I likened the film to one of my favorites, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, and praised it for being one of the better projects shot during quarantine.
How it Ends opens in theaters and VOD on July 21st.