Review: Lucky Bastard

Robert Nathan's Lucky Bastard quickly distinguishes itself apart from the glut of recent found footage by playing off of amatuer porn stunts. This proves to be an effective changeup for the genre until the film reveals that is the only trick up its sleeve.

The film follows porn producer Mike, played wonderfully by Don McManus who has a poor man's Nathan Fillian vibe about him, as he produces a segment for his website Lucky Bastard. The website picks one lucky fan to have sex with a porn star. The porn star of this particular episode is Ashley Saint, played by Betsy Rue. They pick a regular guy from contest entries and head on out to pick him up and film the scene.

Since we are watching this particular episode of Lucky Bastard, we know things are going to go wrong. Nathan pulls a great deal of suspense out of delaying the crazy and this film is better for taking its time to build towards violence. Rue is believable as a porn star who thinks she's too good for this kind of amatuer stunt. She is a professional and Rue gives a sense that Ashley gets bad vibes from the lucky contestant quick.

The contestant is played by Jay Paulson. Paulson is a capable actor and is at times truly creepy in this role. The film just never gives him enough moments though for us to understand why he does what he does. Most of the time Paulson is reduced to staring at the camera in a unsettling manner. Only in a few scenes to we start to understand the forces at work behind him.

Lucky Bastard is best when it lingers on the behind the scenes of the porn industry, catching what feel like honest insights into the industry. The clever premise combines a titillating subject with realistic horror. At times, particularly in the final third, I wish this wasn't found footage. While it never hinders the film, it rarely adds anything and in the end leaves an empty feeling on the viewer. The filmmakers create a sense of reality in so many other ways that the found footage angle. The acting and writing pull humor from fleshed out characters and rarely from porn jokes which you might expect. It helps the film focus on feeling real and horrific rather than silly and played entirely for shock. The tension and creep factor build slowly, creating a sense of playful unease while still making the whole thing feel plausible. In fact, the filmmakers and cast deserve a lot of credit for the film feeling like in unravels realistically.


The end unravels as the Lucky Bastard can't pull together why he does what he does. The film never provides clear motivation. While the horror plays out we feel for the victims because they feel real but the film would be more interesting if we understood the crazy man at the center. This is especially true in the film's most horrific rape scene. Nathan and company seem to lose things in the final third. Lucky Bastard is thrilling, exciting, ultimately pointless and totally worth your time. You can purchase Lucky Bastard here.

3.5/5