Lucky
“Lucky” reminded me of “Happy Death Day” in watching it- that’s a compliment. Writer-star Brea Grant and director Natasha Kermani have devised a smart, interesting mystery box of a thriller that follows in the same fundamental idea of a woman being stalked by a masked killer; the difference is, in “Lucky” time always seems to be moving forward, May (Grant’s character) always seems to get the best of the masked man, and yet, they always seem to get away. The supernatural aspects have shifted, but the story idea is similar- the woman has to figure out a mystery to get the cycle to stop. Whereas “Happy Death Day” is playing a riff on a genre for fun, however, “Lucky” is going for a more emotional level of involvement with the idea; both are well worth checking out.
May is a self-help author who’s having a difficult time moving her latest book, but that’s going to be the least of her problems. That night, a masked assailant makes his way into her and her husband’s house to attack her. They fend him off, but before the police arrive, the attacker is gone. The next night sees the same thing happen, even with husband Ted (Dhruv Uday Singh) doing more to subdue him. The next day, however, they have a fight, and Ted goes off to his parent’s house, leaving May alone. The attacks continue to come, and even- under normal conditions- would result in death. And yet, the man would leave, and come back, and every time May goes to the police, it feels like an act of futility, as they don’t seem interested in what she’s going through. Eventually, she will need to figure a way out of this situation; there may be no one she can rely on but herself.
“Lucky” is a study in a woman freeing herself from the gaslighting that surrounds her, and making her way through an emotionally challenging situation by way of personal fortitude and her intellect. That the character is a self-help author makes this feel a bit too “on the nose” when it comes to the symbolic nature of the way the story progresses, but Kermani does a terrific job of keeping the film insular and suspenseful, maintaining a claustrophobic atmosphere that puts us in May’s mental perspective throughout the film’s 80 minutes, and building to a climax that emphasizes that theme and idea well. And Grant does an good job playing May, putting us in the sense of anxiety she feels, and keeping us guessing as to what is going on. It makes its debut on Shudder on March 4, and it’s well worth checking out.
