Paralyzed with Fear is a supernatural horror written and directed by Glenn Berggoetz (Evil Intent). I hoped that despite its obvious low budget that it would still be something worth watching, especially as horror legend Kane Hodder (Shed of the Dead, Victor Crowley) starred as the antagonist. Some unexciting acting, limited locations, and bad special effects combined to make this one to remember for the wrong reasons.
Kathryn (Andrea Rabold - Evil Intent) became paralysed after a car accident that resulted in the death of her beloved husband. Now she lays in bed yearning for her misery to end. Hoping to lift her mother's spirits, her daughter Hannah (Haidyn Harvey) performs a ritual with the aim of summoning the ghost of her father. It initially appears to have been successful, with both mother and daughter experiencing supernatural events. After using a Ouija board however, it soon becomes clear that the spirit isn't of Kathryn's husband, but instead (and somewhat randomly), it is Chemock (Hodder), the evil spirit of a 15th century man who was the right hand man of Vlad the Impaler! This being wants only pain and misfortune to visit the family.
The indie horror took place almost entirely in the house the mother and daughter live in, even then, there are only really two rooms that are featured in any kind of detail, the bedroom where Kathryn lays, and the kitchen. While events do happen, it is over forty minutes into the horror that Hodder's character makes an appearance on screen. Despite him supposed to be a spirit from the 15th century, the man wears a modern black t-shirt for some reason. Hodder was perfectly fine, his role didn't really require him to do much other than stand around talking to characters. Much of his power happens when he isn't in a visible form. I found the distorted effect used on his voice made many of his lines near impossible to make out, I was catching every other word he said, could just be down to my hearing which isn't fantastic!
Of the other characters in the small cast, they were fine in a bland way. Hannah's best friend Cami (Maya Grace), Kathryn's very religious sister Jennifer (Lauren von Engeln) were in the film about as much as anyone else. None of these characters left an impression, with Kathryn laying in bed the whole film (fair enough as she was paralysed, making up the 'paralyzed' part of the film's title), Hannah soon falling for Chemock for some bizarre reason, and Cami and Jennifer stating how scared they are yet constantly returning to the house.
I liked how female centred the movie was, but it was frustrating how empty the plot came to be. It follows a familiar format of discovering an evil is in the house and then seeking to thwart that evil, but then it seems to run out of ideas, taking the plot in quite a miserable and bleak direction. I guess I was surprised how this ended, but with so little run time left and nothing having been resolved in the slightest, I assumed it might end on an unimpressive note.
Many of the special effects are CG based, though you do get some poltergeist activity with characters getting stuff thrown at them from off screen. Elsewhere, Chemock has the ability to turn red in a terrible looking way and there are plenty of loud noises.
I liked how female centred the movie was, but it was frustrating how empty the plot came to be. It follows a familiar format of discovering an evil is in the house and then seeking to thwart that evil, but then it seems to run out of ideas, taking the plot in quite a miserable and bleak direction. I guess I was surprised how this ended, but with so little run time left and nothing having been resolved in the slightest, I assumed it might end on an unimpressive note.
Many of the special effects are CG based, though you do get some poltergeist activity with characters getting stuff thrown at them from off screen. Elsewhere, Chemock has the ability to turn red in a terrible looking way and there are plenty of loud noises.
Paralyzed with Fear wasn't a good horror film. The limited locations and unlikeable characters left me bored, not really caring what happened to anyone in the movie. The lack of plot, especially in the second half, really helped to bring this down for me also. Bad effects, lacklustre performances, and a poor story did not a fun movie make. Bayview Entertainment have released the horror, with it available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video in the USA, while available worldwide on other streaming platforms.
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