Short films like My Boo exist for no other reason than to show the creativity that lies in the world of independent cinema which we’re failing to observe. This is a short feature with a running time of less than eight minutes, which is better made than many feature films you can see on your nearest multiplex. My Boo is exciting proof that the industry mechanisms of franchises, sequels and IPs are not scary enough to drive natural storytellers away from trying to materialize their ideas into films.
Is a creative story enough? Absolutely not. But it helps, and writer/director Stephanie J. Röst has accomplished too much with so little. You need someone with enough vision to transform an idea into a story worth telling, and Röst has taken a vague insight to make a short film that justifies the entire format: What if you met a woman who says her boyfriend is an Edwardian ghost?
You would ask many questions. You would try to see her perform in the real world. You would ask to be present and answer life’s most important question of what lies after death. Röst just asks you to be patient and enjoy her way of answering whatever’s necessary.
In My Boo, Jessica is being interviewed because she’s very special. A talkative millennial whose biggest secret isn’t exactly a secret. Jessica has a boyfriend, but he’s a perpetual ghost who complies with every rule in the book. The problem is that he and Jessica are going through a rough patch, and while he can’t express himself, she has decided to spew it all to the camera.
Running at a little over seven minutes, My Boo is a quick and hilarious glance at a collection of ideas about its premise. There’s nothing much to explore that’s not Jessica’s weird relationship with a ghost. Nevertheless, the short feature doesn’t beat around the bushes answering the obvious questions (do they have sex?), and instead uses practical effects to answer the ones that are not obvious. Röst uses the extremely limited running time to make the audience look elsewhere. It’s impossible not to imagine what she would do in the case of a feature film with the same premise, but I’m quite positive she would manage.
Why? It’s a clever film. The high energy is accomplished by Jessica Faust’s perfect performance as the subject who’s not afraid to open herself up. The important thing is that, although we enter her world as skeptical people, we will find ourselves shocked at how Jessica’s beau has an effect on our world. It’s not only a matter of physics. It’s also about Jessica making us believe that love in the afterlife is possible.
Film critic. Lover of all things horror. Member of the OFCS. RT Approved Critic.
