THE COLLINGSWOOD STORY (2002)
Label: Cauldron Films
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 82 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Mike Costanza
Cast: Stephanie Dees, Johnny Burton, Diane Behrens, Grant Edmonds
Coming a few years after The Blair Witch Project during the initial millenial found-footage cycle director Mike Costanza's micro-budget gem The Collingswood Story (2002) was still quite prescient in predicting the screen-life horror wave to come nearly two decades later, prefiguring contemporary screen-life chillers The Host and Unfriended! In it a college-aged young woman named Rebecca (Stephanie Dees, Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers) is attending Rutgers in Collingswood, New Jersey, far away from her hometown boyfriend John (Johnny Burton) whose still in Virginia. To keep in touch Johnny gifts her a web cam set-up so that they can keep in touch long distance. Now keep in mind that in 2002 when this was made we didn't have video conferencing tools like we do these days, it was cutting edge stuff, and the idea was ahead of its time.
On the night of her birthday Rebecca and Johnny celebrate together but apart via the web cam video chatting each other, and all the footage we see is bieng captured via webcam video and on computer screens. As the night progresses the awkward video chat evolves into something quite a bit spookier, starting when Johnny surprises her with video chat sessio with spiritual-medium named Vera Madeline (Diane Behrens, Moneyball), spooky lady in sunglasses in a dark candlelit room. During their sessin Vera tells Rebecca that she senses that she is sensitive to psychic phenomenon, which sort of weirds Rebecca out, and she gets more spooked when the medium calls her by her real name, despite having givien her a phony name. Rebecca cuts the call short but before shee hangs up the medium says she needs to talk to her more about something very important concerning the historic house that Rebecca is living in.
Shaken by the experience she resumes video chatting with her boyfriend, both begin to research her house and discover that not only was it the site of a horrific series of occult based murders by a cult that was founded by a guy named Alan Tashi in the 19th century, but that the cult is said to be still active in the area, and she might very well be in danger.
Its a well-executed micro-budget flick with an interesting and prescient premise, the video conferencing mixed with occult elements and a creepy shaker toy that figures into it give this found-footage entry a good kick, and the performances are solid. Reading the synopsis beforehand, this was a first-time watch, I honestly expected this to be not that great as I'm not a huge found-footage fan, but I was pretty rapt from start to finish. Also helping is the lean 82-minute run timewith some solid editing and that keeps the screen-life aesthetic from ever being boring.
Audio/Video: The Collingswood Story (2002) makes it's worldwide (region-free) Blu-ray debut courtesy of Cauldron Films framed in 1.33:1 widescreen in 1080p HD, advertised as bing "remastered for Blu-ray by director Michael Costanza". It looks solid considering the original source limitations of the micro-budget feature. Its not gonna wow you with razor sharp detail and clarity but the colors look good and it the webcam vibe feels more or less authentic, though its shot quite a bit better than actual early '00 webcam looked in reality.
Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. Considering the source limitation and the inherent aesthetic design it sounds great, like the video its not demo-worthy but acceptable given the found-footage nature of it.
Onto the extras, things kick off with a new commentary from the director who gets into creating a scary film using the then quite modern video chat technology, and diving into the nitty gritty of making the film, which was ahead of its time. We also get a 14-min making-of featurette with Mike Costanza and Stephanie Dees that offers plenty of cool behind-the-scenes and audition footage.
Additionally Dees gets a 5-min solo interview from the 2005 Fearless Tales Film Festival with Calum Waddell. She talks not just about this movie but also about her appearance in Halloween IV. Actors John Burton & Grant Edmonds get a 10-min interview wherein they discuss the rehearsal process, how things were shot and what it was like shooting their scenes separate from each other.
The disc is buttoned-up with a 2-min trailer for the film and an image gallery of Polaroid continuity photos. The single disc release arrives in a clear Elite keepcase with a sleeve or reversible artwork featuring the original artwork and a cool new artwork by Sister Hyde Designs.
Special Features:
- Stephanie Dees Interview (5 min)
- John Burton & Grant Edmonds Interview (10 min)
- Continuity/Set Polaroids image gallery (2 min)
- Behind The Story featurette (14 min)
- Audio Commentary with Mike Costanza
- Trailer (2 min)
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork with artwork by Sister Hyde Design
Another solid release of an under-the-radar found footage gem from Cauldron Films. I'm loving the breadth and depth of their output so far, they're definitely a distributor to keep an eye on if you're a deep-cut cult film fan.
