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| Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK). Region 2, PAL. 4:3. English DD 2.0, English DD 5.1, English DTS 5.1. 80 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Michael
Costanza
Starring: Stephanie
Dees, Johnny Burton, Vera Madeline, Grant Edmonds
Screenplay: Michael
Costanza
Country: USA |
Anchor Bay UK have a fine tradition of releasing
bold and daring genre product onto the DVD market.
If it wasn't for them we probably would
never have seen the likes of The Living
Dead at the Manchester Morgue, Nightmare
City, Legion of the Dead et al released on DVD in the R2 UK territory –
and for this they are to be highly commended.
Progressing in a similar vein to their previous
track record, Anchor Bay UK have picked up The
Collingswood Story for a UK DVD release
– and what a gem it is too.
Taking its cue from such low budget fare as The
Blair Witch Project, The Collingswood
Story is a micro-budget shot-on-video
affair that relies more on atmosphere and compelling
performances than on elaborate FX and expensive
production design. However, director Michael Costanza
certainly knows how to create an engrossing movie
without having to spend huge amounts of money.
The film is also aided by two superb central performances
from Stephanie Dees and Johnny Burton, who are
both so natural that it's hard to believe
that they're actually acting. They breeze
through the film effortlessly and create believable
and engaging characters, which is essential for
a film of this nature to succeed.
The story is a straightforward affair and tells
of how Rebecca (Stephanie Dees) has moved from
her hometown to go and study at a college in Collingswood.
Her boyfriend (of sorts), Johnny (Johnny Burton),
persuades her to buy a webcam so that they can
stay in touch. The people who own the house where
Rebecca is renting a room have gone away for the
weekend, so Johnny is keeping her company via
the webcam. Johnny surprises Rebecca by hooking
her up with an online psychic for a reading, thinking
it would provide a laugh and a bit of fun for
Rebecca. However, things start to take a sinister
turn when the psychic warns Rebecca about bad
things having happened in Collingswood. When Rebecca,
looking worried, tells Johnny this, he decides
to do a little digging around himself and he soon
finds that things might not be what they seem
- the house where Rebecca is staying appears to
have been the location of some macabre events
in recent history…
The film is told entirely via the webcams that
Johnny and Rebecca are using and creates a strange
atmosphere of constant unease. For regular users
of the internet, they will be aware that at times
the web can be a very strange place indeed and
most people will have been spooked by strange
activity at some point in their online life –
especially when encountering some internet weirdo!
For this reason alone, the film will most likely
strike a chord with many people – as it
did with me. The use of webcams as a medium for
telling a horror story is definitely unique and
Michael Costanza is to be commended for finding
new territory within the horror genre to explore
– not an easy thing to do. The other thing
that is impressive is the subtlety of the piece
– the building of tension is not obvious
and avoids the standard trappings of the genre
by employing cheap scares. No, this is far less
obvious and much more cerebral and by the time
the film reaches its climax you realise that you've
been played like a fiddle and wound up like a
coil ready to spring – this is very clever
filmmaking. |
| Video |
| Shot on a shoestring budget, this was never going
to look as polished as a major Hollywood movie,
but, considering the source elements, this looks
excellent and there is very little to complain about.
There are no signs of compression artefacts and
the colours are solid and vibrant and remaining
consistent throughout. The blacks are solid and
never smeary and the image is sharp and clear. |
| Audio |
| Three audio options are provided, all of which
are excellent – DD 2.0 stereo, DD 5.1 and
DTS. The dialogue is always clear and crisp and
the atmospherics are nicely spread over the surround
sound platform. |
| Extra Features |
| The disc carries a nice selection of supplementary
features, which adds value to the package. Included
are two shorts by Michael Costanza - Flasher
and Mama Said; an alternate scene; behind-the-scenes
featurette; cast auditions; bloopers; and a stills
gallery. The featurette includes interviews with
the director and cast and is quite telling in
that it reveals Michael Costanza to be something
of a horror movie buff – something that
we here at Digital Retribution can fully appreciate!
It's also nice to see Stephanie Dees interviewed
by our good friend Calum Waddell (who is also
an associate producer of the movie) and she talks
freely about the making of the film, giving some
valuable insight into the production of The
Collingswood Story. Overall, Anchor Bay
have produced a very worthwhile package and, for
once, here are some extra features that are actually
worth watching! It makes a nice change from the
usual pretentious back-slapping featurettes that
appear on major releases, where everyone is gushing
about how happy they are and isn't everything
great. Yawn… |
| The Verdict |
I'm usually not a fan of micro-budget shot-on-video
fare, so this came as something of a surprise. The
Collingswood Story just goes to show that
intelligent, clever filmmaking can be achieved with
next-to-nothing – as long as there is some
talent both behind and in front of the camera. It's
also to Michael Costanza's credit that he
is never self-indulgent – the editing is tight
and doesn't labour a point. The pacing therefore
moves along at a healthy clip and never leaves time
for the viewer to become bored. I can only hope
that Michael will go on to bigger things and earn
himself the recognition (and money) that he so richly
deserves. The same can be said for Stephanie Dees
and Johnny Burton, both of whom have proved themselves
to be fine actors and able to breathe life into
a script that could easily have fallen flat if handled
by less capable performers.
The only thing left to say is that I highly recommend
this movie – especially if you're
a fan of The Blair Witch Project.
I think this is the better film though, if I'm
honest (then again, I never was very enamoured
of Blair Witch). Go in with an open mind and you
will find that this is a very satisfying and rewarding
viewing experience. And don't be put off
by the 4 out of 5 rating – the 5 out of
5 rating is reserved for the likes of Halloween and other classics, that's the only reason
it's not got a full five star rating. |
| The Rating |
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