Luke Barnett says he may never make another project that affects audiences the way his short film “The Crossing Over Express” has. The emotional response has continued long after release, with viewers still sending him messages about how the film helped them process the loss of a loved one. For Barnett, who co-created the short with longtime collaborator Tanner Thomason, that reaction has become one of the most meaningful outcomes of his career.
The idea for the film began in 2022, when Barnett received an unexpected message containing a video of his late mother. In the recording, she told him how proud she was and wondered what he would become. The moment inspired him to imagine what someone might say if given one final conversation with a deceased loved one. That concept became the basis for “The Crossing Over Express,” a low-budget short filmed in 2024 with friends in a single day.
In the film, Barnett plays a grieving man who visits a traveling doctor capable of raising the dead from the back of a truck, but only for two minutes. He uses the brief reunion to speak to his mother one last time. After being posted online in September 2024, the short quickly went viral, drawing about half a million views in its first 72 hours and nearly 2 million within a month. It also drew attention from major entertainment outlets and industry professionals.
The success of the short has had a major impact on Barnett’s acting career. He recently joined the cast of AMC’s “Dark Winds” in season 4 as a recurring FBI Special Agent, marking his first role in prestige television. Barnett said the opportunity came directly because executive producer Max Hurwitz had seen and praised “The Crossing Over Express.” That led to a casting invitation months later, and Barnett was shooting in Santa Fe shortly after.
The short’s influence continued to open doors. Barnett later filmed Peacock’s comedy-drama “The Burbs” and returned for season 5 of Apple TV’s “For All Mankind,” where he plays the recurring role of a Mars-based head of spacesuit logistics. He says he also has two more films lined up, both from directors who discovered him through the short and then offered him roles.
Barnett’s work behind the camera has also benefited. Fangoria invited him to develop another short, leading to “Goodbye, Monster,” a horror creature feature now in post-production under the Fangoria Studios label. The film, about a boy visited by the monster under his bed, has attracted notable collaborators including composer Bear McCreary, sound designer Jeff King, and voice actor Patton Oswalt.
He has also made other self-financed shorts, including “Ovation,” a satire about standing ovations at film festivals, and is now working with director Noam Kroll on a short-form series called “Fatherhood.” Meanwhile, a feature adaptation of “The Crossing Over Express” is in development. Barnett says the expanded version will remain a grounded supernatural drama about grief and longing, while becoming a bigger, more commercial film.
Barnett sees his experience as proof that creators can gain attention by making their own work and taking risks when the industry hesitates.
