Our badass crew of diverse artists range in race, sexuality, gender, and threshold of fear but our common goal is to scare the crap out of you! We come together to share a deeply relatable and timely story of overcoming trauma, isolation and grief through the lens of psychological horror.

PARALYSIS is a non-linear psychological horror, emotional family drama, and supernatural film.

In May 2021, we created a promo trailer for PARALYSIS, our non-linear psychological horror that we hoped to film that summer using only our cell phones.  We released the promo on all social media platforms one day prior to going LIVE with our Seed&Spark.  We had hoped to raise $9,000 total for our production expenses.  On June 26th, 2021, our campaign ended, and we had raised 112% of our goal!

 

We immediately went into production mode with an intense 16-day principal photography shoot.  We had a short window of time before a number of artists on our team would no longer be available.  But we had painstakingly prepared and successfully completed principal photography on July 28th, 2021.

 

(L) Actress Lisagaye Tomlinson "Anissa Bradley", being filmed by director Levi Austin Morris.  (R) The resulting footage from our film.

 

 

(TOP) Filming a night car sequence with actress Allison Lobel "Haley Stone" (BOTTOM) The resulting footage from our film.

After principal photography wrapped, we spent eight months piecing together our film. We are now raising $5,500 for the final stages of post-production. This includes: one day of reshoots, sound designer, VFX artist, festival entry fees, etc.

 

After family trauma, Haley Stone (Allison Lobel) has isolated herself from everyone except her brother Nicky.  But with her complicated grief and emotional well-being deteriorating, Haley experiences hallucinations, vivid nightmares, and debilitating episodes of sleep paralysis.  These episodes become ever more pressing when Haley notices bruises on her body.  She suspects the entity that visits her in the night is not just a figment of her imagination.  With the assistance of a paranormal investigator, Haley must access the truth buried between realities and free herself from this living nightmare.

 

The support we received from our first Seed&Spark Campaign was nothing short of amazing!  We are so deeply grateful to our backers because this film would not have happened without them!!  And we carried that with us every day on set; blessed and grateful for the opportunity to make this film.  And, boy, did we have fun making it!  

 

While holding for a plane overhead, Allison kept the crew that day amused by singing Disney songs.

 

But more importantly, we accomplished what we set out to do!  We told this story without cutting corners. We stayed up until 4 and 5 a.m. some days until we go the shots we needed!  And visually this film is exactly what we hoped for!

 

"You couldn't handle my dreams, they're awful!"

"I'm so tired of fighting!"

"Grief is temporary. Love is not!"

 

Our goal right now is $5,500! But more is always better!

So where is your money going?

• $150 will go to our one full day of reshoots.  This will pay for food/crafty snacks for the cast and crew so that we have the needed energy to finish these reshoots.
  
  
• $200 will go to a sound designer/foley artist who is doing work on the film.  He is building the soundscape/atmosphere we were unable to pick up on the day and really adding layers/nuance to the world we have created.
  
  
• $350 will go to marketing materials and film festival press kits.  These allow us to get the word out about our project as it is accepted into festivals and hopefully muster up enough press/publicity to build our audience.  The reality of this industry is that an audience doesn't just come to a film once it's finished; you must find and build your audience.  This is the bare minimum amount we need to start building this audience. 
• $2,000 will go to a VFX artist. We have some light VFX work needed on the film (i.e., masking certain elements out, enhancing some of our practical effects, making our creature work pop, etc.) 
  
  
• $1,800 will go to festival entry fees.  Festivals are not cheap but they are the best way to have the film seen by an audience, distributor, or other industry professionals.  The average submission fee for a festival ranges from $50–$80 depending on the deadline.  This gives us an opportunity to submit to 20–30 festivals.
  
  
• $1,000 will go to a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) of our film.  Most festivals require the film be presented on a DCP for exhibition.  It's sort of the industry standard.  And DCPs are NOT cheap.  This amount allows us to purchase ONE.

This is the bare minimum we need for these final post-production expenses.  If we surpass our $5,500 goal, we have some stretch goals that would afford us more opportunities!

• $6,500 covers any Seed&Spark platform fee and any credit card fees taken out of the final total thus ensuring we receive the needed $5,500.
  
  
• $7,000 allows us to pay a very small stipend to the cast/crew for their work on reshoots.  Right now they are giving this additional day out of passion for the project. 
  
  
• $8,000 allows us to purchase an additional DCP of our film, giving us the opportunity to appear in two festivals with similar dates.
    
• $8,500 allows us to do more targeted marketing, thus expanding our audience even wider and generating more demand and publicity for our project.
  
  
• $10,000 allows a representative from our team to travel to each festival we are accepted to and represent our film, meet those in attendance, and potentially snag distribution opportunities. 

If you are able, please consider contributing to our campaign so we can complete this film!  $5,500 is the minimum amount that we need!  No amount is too small, and every contributor will receive their name in the credits of our film!  But there are also incredible tiered perks you can also receive for your contribution!  We have brand new perks for this campaign, including original props from the actual film!  But we also have some returning perk favorites from our last campaign. 

If you contributed to the last campaign, we encourage you to contribute to this campaign as well! 

 

Behind the scenes photos taken our by producer Jamie Tobias.  

 

With COVID remaining a concern and numbers increasing in LA County we are doing our part to ensure the safety of our cast/crew for the day of reshoots taking place. 

Just as we did during production, anyone who steps foot on our set must be vaccinated and boosted.  We require proof of a recent negative PCR-test or a rapid test done on the day.  And anyone who has recently traveled or been unmasked in a populated area is required to wear a mask on set throughout the shoot. 

 

PLEASE FOLLOW & SHARE OUR CAMPAIGN!

The only way we will hit our crowdfunding goal is if our campaign reach can expand beyond our own network.  If you love indie horror, if you love filmmakers who are unafraid to try new techonology, if you love supporting independent, diverse artists from all walks of life, and if you want to see this movie please consider contributing and sharing our campaign.  This will only happen with YOUR support and the support of those outside of our network! Share on social media, email, word of mouth, shout it from the rooftops (if you shout it from the rooftops be sure to film it and tag us so we can also enjoy!) 

 

Here are some examples of what you can say.  Feel free to copy and paste!

I just watched the trailer for @ParalysisTheFilm directed by @LeviAustinMorris and it is intense!  You've got to support these indie filmmakers so we can see this film!! Join their @Seed&Spark: https://bit.ly/3NCUUWS

 

Did you love HEREDITARY, THE BABADOOK, or THE HAUNTING of HILL HOUSE?! Then you've got to support Indie filmmaker @LeviAustinMorris and his team @ParalysisTheFilm so we can see their emotional, non-linear psychological horror PARALYSIS. Join their @Seed&Spark: https://bit.ly/3NCUUWS

And don't forget to use our OFFICAL HASHTAG!

#SweetScreams