One Halloween night, Laura (played by Jillian Byrnes) is assaulted in her own apartment. The attack results in her paralyzing agoraphobia which keeps her from leaving her home for nearly a year. As the days count down to the 1st anniversary of the traumatic night, Laura is tormented by an apparition. She contacts Elizabeth (played by Jennifer Servary), an internet sexpot and self-proclaimed expert in the paranormal, for help. Elizabeth is skeptical but after witnessing some very paranormal incidents in Laura’s apartment, she takes the case. With the help of modern technology and Laura’s best friend, Nikki (Marianne Hayden), Elizabeth hopes to free Laura from the ghost and her personal demons as well.

Director and writer, David A. Cross does a fine job directing this indie horror flick. GhostWatcher sports tight and effective editing, cool lighting effects, atmospheric music, and some great digital photography. Although it contains elements of other films in its plot, the story is still engrossing and the characters are likable, even sympathetic. Cross makes the most of a modest budget and puts a great deal of love for the genre in his film.

The trio of actresses starring in the film are newcomers but all handle themselves in front of the camera very well. Jillian Byrnes’ performance is strong, especially when Laura attempts to leave her home. Despite the obvious danger of remaining in her apartment, Laura is still paralyzed by her agoraphobia which overcomes rational behavior. Marianne Hayden, despite her obvious inexperience is still a competent and purposeful actress. Her portrayal of Nikki easily won me over and I couldn’t help but get worried whenever she was in danger.

However, it is the sexy and charming Jennifer Servary who really shines in her role. Elizabeth, the enterprising (if not a little opportunistic) web goddess is a great character. She is tough as nails to begin with but as the haunting situation becomes more dangerous and she’s in over her head, Servary gives her an unexpected vulnerability adding more depth to an already interesting character.

Despite a glaring reference to the Evil Dead late in the movie, GhostWatcher keeps its referential moments to a minimum. As stated before, this film contains many plot elements familiar to horror fans but it is the execution of the story that keeps the material fresh and lively. The scene that really stays with me is when Laura is locked in her room by some unseen force and books begin to fly off their shelves. Elizabeth manages to force the door open and is taken aback by torn pages flying through the air in the room. The moment is breathtaking and helps to elevate GhostWatcher above much of the indie swill that’s out right now.

Not everyone is going to love GhostWatcher but many folks who have turned their back on independent horror films will be surprised by the great care put into this production. Despite some lackluster makeup on a certain reanimated corpse and a few plot holes (which can only be cleared up by watching the deleted scenes on the DVD), this film is a pleasure to watch and is never boring. This is a promising feature from Cross and I can’t wait to see where he'll go from here. And I also can't wait to see where Jennifer Servary will turn up in next.