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Horror Review: Robert Nathan’s Found Footage Flick ‘Lucky Bastard’

'Lucky Bastard'
‘Lucky Bastard’

In the new found footage horror flick ‘Lucky Bastard,’ director Robert Nathan sets his sights on a medium where the cameras are always rolling. The film focuses in on Dave (Jay Paulson), seemingly average guy that wins a contest winner who is chosen to star in a new adult production with porn star Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue). At first, Dave seems like a typical contest winner but before long his demeanor goes from creepy to down right sinister as we notice he is looking a bit deeper at what the camera is capturing than the average contest winner. It doesn’t take long before this adult film amateur gets his switch flipped (literally and figuratively), triggering a violent killing spree to erase all evidence of his less than romantic interlude.

The production value of the film matches what you might expect from your standard porn site these days, which helps ground it in reality. That aspect, coupled with Robert Nathan and co-screenwriter Lukas Kendall willingness to build Dave’s awkwardness and transformation makes for a terrific performance out of Jay Paulson. The highlight of the film for me was seeing the underutilized Betsy Rue as a pornstar single mother of two who is in the porn game for money to support her children, who needs to turn in the best performance of her life just to stay alive. Rue’s performance shines and saves the film from falling into the category of “just another found footage flick with a twist.”

Much like the characters in the film, if you are looking for a film with a little more than you bargained for, ‘Lucky Bastard’ might be your best ticket!

‘Lucky Bastard’ is rated NC-17 by the MPAA for explicit sexual content. The film will be released in limited theaters on February 14th in New York, March 7th in LA, and will expand into additional cities throughout the spring.

Cast includes: Don McManus, Jay Paulson, Betsy Rue, Chris Wylde, Catherine Annette, Lee Kholafai, Lanny Joon

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