Lucky Review (Film, 2021) #31DaysOfHorror
content warning: foul language, gore, blood, mental wellness, violence against women
A how-to/self-help author becomes convinced someone is stalking her. When no one will take her seriously or help her, she has to take care of it on her own.
Lucky is a methodical, psychological, and experimental home invasion horror film. May is being kept in the dark by the people in her life. Her book is not selling well enough, but her agent won’t tell her what the next steps could be. The publisher isn’t really talking, either, just expressing disappointment. Her husband is totally unfazed by the stalker breaking into their house and attacking them in the night. He even becomes frustrated that May does not understand what he is saying. Every person she goes to for help seems unable to offer her any meaningful support for the specific problems she is facing.
The film comes down to this. May is stuck in a cycle that she is unaware of. That stalker breaks into her house every night and tries to kill her. She doesn’t remember it starting, but no one else seems particularly concerned that it happened. The man also disappears whenever she successfully attacks. The terror comes from a universe that just doesn’t make sense.
There is a lot going on that slowly comes into focus as the film progresses. Lucky has an unpredictable structure as May gets pulled further and further into this living nightmare. It’s one of those horror films where the character is consistently making what should be the right choices and still gets punished for it. The experience is disorienting.
Director Natasha Kermani is in total control of Lucky. She knows how to present Brea Grant’s screenplay in a way that feels honest. Grant pulls double duty as screenwriter and star, which makes her performance all the more impressive.
It takes a special kind of actor to bring truth to a performance like this when they themselves created the story. She’s performing a narrative of the unknown while fully being aware of what is happening. In most cases, actors do get to read the screenplay, but it’s different when you’ve created it yourself.
The score from Jeremy Zuckerman feels chaotic. It starts that way, at least. The first music we hear is a cacophony of sounds bouncing around while the stalker first breaks into the house. There are moments where these sounds are restored into a pattern that makes sense, but they inevitably fall apart like May’s plans fall apart. It’s excellent storytelling through song.
The big reveal in Lucky is devastating. The film does not have easy answers, but it does have an explanation. That might actually be more terrifying.
Lucky is streaming on Shudder.
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