Forgive me for starting my review like this, but I have to get this off my chest ASAP! It frightens me to tell you that The Collingswood Story bears a strange resemblance to a little film called The Blair Witch Project. Why does it frighten me you ask? Well, I fear you may be scared away from viewing a film that truly does deserve your attention. A fan of The Blair Witch Project I most certainly am. At the time of its release it was highly inventive and frightening, besides I saw it months before all the damn hoopla took hold. I don't care what people say, The Blair Witch Project was (and still is) a frightening film, end of story. Let's start a new story right here and now that begins with a little film called The Collingswood Story. A film, that in my humble opinion is as scary (if not even scarier) than any Blair Witch-esque film I've ever seen. This is where the Blair Witch comparisons end and The Collingswood Story's official discussion begins.

The Collingswood Story is uniquely told through the use of web cams and video email technology. Rebecca left the comfort of her Virginia home for a semester of college in Collingswood New Jersey. As a parting gift (and birthday present), her good friend John bought Rebecca a web cam so keeping in touch would be that much easier. The two spend some time experimenting with the cameras and video technology and eventually wind up connecting with an online psychic. The two are then tipped off that something may not be right in ol' Collingswood and the rented home that Rebecca is staying at may harbor some dark and disturbing secrets.

Collingswood is about as low budget as they come, but this fact will not once enter your mind during the films quick paced 80-minute running time. In a film like this performances and flow are key and I'm happy to report that Collingswood aced the course. Stephanie Dees (Rebecca) and Johnny Burton (John) carry this film from start to finish and make a very difficult job look unusually easy, but don't be fooled. Apparently each actor filmed his/her scenes on completely different days and were only able to judge actions and reactions by the coaching of their director, Mike Costanza. There is a definite if not all to deliberate and incredible buildup of fear and anxiety that the viewer experiences. In layman terms, this film has atmosphere to spare... not an easy thing to accomplish.

Cleverly executed, it's hard to find many flaws in this entertaining piece. Collingswood remains fascinating to watch primarily because of its interesting and sympathetic characters. Director Costanza does an admirable job in piecing it all together and gives us a fairly unique and inventive presentation. The action shifts from full frame point of view shots to each individuals onscreen desktop media player. Characters point of views are distinguished through their desktop background images (nice touch). The actual background story for the whole Collingswood fiasco is equally as inventive and frightening.

Considering that The Collingswood Story was SOV, there's really not a whole lot to discuss as far as video quality goes. This obviously independently produced DVD looks pretty good with a fairly clean authoring job. Dark scenes (and there are plenty of them) do very well with only minimal amounts of slight video noise.

Audio is presented in a decent stereo surround mix that's nothing real fancy, but certainly does get the job done. There are ample amounts of ambient creepiness and clear dialogue.

Extras include some brief production notes, cast bios and a trailer. It would have been great to see some more extras, maybe some outtakes or behind the scenes footage. A cast and crew audio commentary could have also made for some interesting viewing. It figures that one of the few times I actually wanted to see these extras on an indie DVD, they're not there. Such is life.

Uniquely entertaining and downright scary The Collingswood Story is an admirable indie feature and definitely worth seeking out. The handheld moments may be a bit too Blair-esque for some, but if you're able to get past the similarities and accept Collingswood on its own terms, you may find yourself to be in for a real treat. I'm not exactly sure as to what kind of run the film will have on home video so for more info you can check out the flick's official site by clicking here.