Rob Munday

When it comes to storytelling, few topics are as universally relatable as loss. While it may seem unsuitably sombre to begin a positive article with this reality, the truth is that everyone faces death at some point in their life. With that profound experience of losing a loved one certain to prompt some reflection on existence and what comes after it. With grief being such a frequent theme in filmmaking, it takes creative directors to explore fresh ways of addressing it. For co-directors Luke Barnett and Tanner Thomason, inspiration for their short, The Crossing Over Express, came from a real-life experience, leading them to craft a story about a mysterious doctor who operates out of a truck, using only a radio and a sheet to communicate with the dead.

“I clicked it and my heart stopped. It was my mom.”

The tale of a man seeking one last conversation with his late mother, the narrative for The Crossing Over Express begun when Barnett started thinking about his own mom, who passed away when he was just 17. With only “a handful of pictures and zero videos” of her, on his birthday a couple of years ago he received a text message from an unknown number which simply said ‘Happy Birthday’ and contained a YouTube link.

“I clicked it, and my heart stopped. It was my mom,” Barnett recalls, reflecting on the moment. In the video, she was “telling me how proud she was of me and how she wondered what I’d become.” The director later found out the clip was from a school event in 1999, sent by a friend’s father. After this unexpected experience, Barnett couldn’t shake the thought of what he would say if he had the chance for one final conversation with his mother. This led to a discussion with his writing partner, Thomason, and together they crafted the short film as a response to that lingering question.

Luke Barnett as Hank, a man desperate for one last conversation with his deceased mother.

Though Barnett was more experienced in writing and acting, The Crossing Over Express was such a deeply personal story that he felt it was the right moment to take on the role of director. Admitting with a touch of humour that, “like a true egomaniacal creative,” he also wanted to play the lead (Hank), Barnett decided to share directorial duties with Thomason, trusting that he would provide honest feedback on his performance.

With Barnett new to directing and Thomason determined not to let his friend down, there were plenty of ways The Crossing Over Express could have gone off track. Yet, both tonally and visually, the duo nailed it, crafting a film that is haunting, heartfelt, and refreshingly unique. Initially, the short draws viewers in with its captivating setup – an intriguing mystery paired with an unexpected Western-tinged score – before seamlessly transitioning into genre storytelling.

With the spectre’s appearance evoking the unconventional style seen in David Lowery’s A Ghost Story (2017), The Crossing Over Express leans more toward the unsettling than the outright frightening. But this film isn’t designed to scare; instead, it masterfully weaves together deep emotion and unexpected humour to keep its audience captivated. While the portrayal of the spirit’s rise and fall is handled perfectly, it’s the image of Hank’s tear-streaked face, topped with a pointy birthday hat, that will leave the lasting memory here.