Paralytic

Alice, a small-town Washington sheriff, responds to a disturbance call and drives from deep in the forest. Coming upon a remote cabin, she discovers high-tech surveillance equipment, a slew of weapons, a handwritten note . . . and a man's excoriated corpse. "My name is Carson Empman," the note reads. "I am being hunted by the Chutro drug cartel. If their assassins find me alive, they will bring something far worse than death. They will bring the serum. I have at most three days to take my revenge, then I will end my life on my terms. For what I have let happen to Clarissa, I deserve nothing less." As Alice attempts to decipher this increasingly cryptic puzzle in the present, the film flashes back to Carson, a high-end contract killer known as "The Ghost." Famous for leaving no traces and no bodies, he has served his employers well. But cartel boss Patrón has other plans, and Carson's lover and fellow cartel employee Clarissa is paralyzed, tortured, and killed. Now Carson must head to the woods, where he will set a vengeful plan into motion—bring down the cartel's vast financial holdings and make their crimes public. Lean, mean, and brainteasing, this locally shot crime thriller is a blast of energy straight to the spine. (Seattle International Film Festival)