One theory as to how this works (in a game programming sort of way) is this: when the Judicator is fully charged and fired in front of the hunter, it creates a fog cloud seen by the hunter and others. The game, however, records a wall that goes to the ends of the map (ceiling and floor). It is limited in range though. When facing straight down and firing a charged shot, the "freezing" wall doesn't extend vertically; rather, it extends horizontally to the ends of the map. Since the entire wall is programmed to freeze whatever touches it, its limited, forward-firing range prevents it from freezing anything too far away. When pointed downward, the entire wall extends horizontally away from the hunter, hitting (and freezing) anything that touches it. Targets must be on the same elevation due t