It’s hard to believe this film took eight hours to shoot. Director Jakob Bilinski manages to cut together such a tightly wound and excellent little horror film that it’s impossible to believe it came out so great, let alone coherent. “Lucky” is a fantastic horror film in the tradition of classic comeuppance stories that really do allow the audience to revel in the twist before us.
While “Lucky” dons a twist, director Bilinski and writer Todd Martin are able to make it seem like fate was playing a hand in the events that unfold all along. Maybe character Staci is actually lucky. Just not in the traditional sense. In either case, “Lucky” is one of the few short films that has mass potential for a larger tale. In its short form it’s quite fantastic. Staci has just won a small cash reward from the local lottery, but that literally means nothing at the moment as she spends the night in her college library researching the supernatural and ideas about luck.
When a large man enters the library and intrudes on Staci’s studying, things go from bad to worse when he reveals himself to be a local serial killer prone to mutilating young girls. What begins as an easy target one night in a quiet library ends in a shocking turn of fates, as he comes face to face with an individual unwilling to become the victim of his sick hobby. Director Bilinski brings a real visual style to the short horror film, and the revealing of Staci as she struggles to fight back is surprising and utterly creepy. Lisa Duvall’s unnerving make up paired with Louisa Torres’ mesmerizing performance really make “Lucky” is a memorable little horror gem. This is highly suggested if you ever come across it.