The End: a scifi musical movie (trailer).
Get ready to experience the apocalypse like you’ve never seen—or heard—before. The End, hitting screens December 6th, 2024, is an apocalyptic musical from director Joshua Oppenheimer that dares to ask: what happens when a wealthy family survives the end of the world… but still can’t survive each other? With a cast led by Tilda Swinton (of course), Michael Shannon (singing and dancing, no less), and George MacKay, this genre-bending spectacle promises dystopian drama, toe-tapping tunes, and enough family dysfunction to make your last Christmas dinner look positively harmonious.
The story unfolds two decades after the world has, well, ended—presumably with this particular family holding the smoking gun. Their bunker, a luxurious underground lair that could double as a Bond villain’s Airbnb, has protected them from the chaos above. But all is not well in their post-apocalyptic paradise. Swinton’s steely matriarch presides over the fractured family unit, Shannon’s patriarch tackles the challenges of apocalypse-era parenting (while also busting out some show-stopping numbers), and MacKay’s sheltered son wrestles with the existential crisis of never having seen the sun—or much of anything beyond his family’s increasingly tense salt mine mansion.
Enter Moses Ingram as a mysterious girl who shows up at the bunker door, throwing the family’s already fragile balance into chaos. Her arrival brings outside tension inside, cracking open the carefully curated bubble of denial this family has lived in for decades. Can you survive the end of the world if you’re still trapped with them? Cue the drama, and more importantly, the music.
Speaking of music, this isn’t your typical apocalypse soundtrack of ominous strings and Hans Zimmer-esque booms. The End is a musical. Yes, that’s right—songs about survival, guilt, and possibly the absurdity of trying to preserve luxury in a world turned to ash. Shannon’s foray into song-and-dance is already generating buzz (and some head-scratching curiosity), while Swinton’s presence guarantees at least one haunting solo you won’t be able to shake.
With a production that spans Ireland, Italy, and Germany, The End is as visually sumptuous as its themes are bleak. Expect stark contrasts: lush underground interiors against the grim implications of the destroyed world above. It’s luxury and rot, decadence and despair—a cocktail sure to leave audiences both mesmerised and unsettled.
Critics are already weighing in, with reactions ranging from “stunningly original” to “deeply perplexing”—which, let’s be honest, is exactly what you’d expect from an apocalyptic musical starring Tilda Swinton. For audiences, the draw lies in its audacious genre-blending: it’s equal parts biting satire, family drama, and theatrical spectacle. Imagine The Sound of Music, but the hills aren’t alive—they’re a toxic wasteland.
So, prepare yourself for The End, a film that promises to be as thought-provoking as it is bizarre. Will it redefine apocalyptic storytelling? Will Shannon’s dance moves rival Fred Astaire? Will Swinton once again prove she’s the queen of cinematic eccentricity? Whatever happens, one thing’s for sure: the apocalypse has never been this catchy.
