Opening with a neat jump scare,  THE CROSSING from writer/director Thomas Haley (BREAKDOWN), is a 14 minute short about an urban legend that’s all too real. After losing her husband to be on the night before their wedding the spirit of the bride to be (Victoria De Mare HELL’S KITTY, THE 27 CLUB) kills people at the crossing where it happened. If she lost her love, nobody deserves happily ever after. Things get complicated when she attacks Travis (Charles Chudabala UGLY SWEATER PARTY, NIGHTSHADE) and Melissa (Brooklyn Haley, SLICE AND DICE).

Plotwise, THE CROSSING is nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s done well. It delivers several nice jump scares and the chase that forms the middle of the film is well done. The makeup for the murderous ghost is sufficiently creepy that she’ll be turning up in nightmares.

he two leads are solid, Charles Chudabala relates the legend and plays the victim well. Brooklyn Haley, (yes the director’s daughter), certainly has the looks, and lungs, to have a bright future in the genre. Victoria De Mare plays it more restrained than I’m used to seeing her and does well. Also, watch for Felissa Rose, (A NUN’S CURSE, VICTOR CROWLEY) as a waitress.

On the down side there’s some overdone dialogue and the truck involved in the accident looks a bit modern for something that happened before the leads were born. But they’re small quibbles about what is an otherwise well made film.

THE CROSSING is being submitted to festivals. It’s already picked up an “Award of Excellence” for Brooklyn Haley’s performance from Global Shorts, Los Angeles. You can keep updated on screenings at the production company’s Facebook page.