“Lucky Bastard” Proves There Are Still Areas For Found Footage To Explore

Tagline: “She was a fantasy. He was a nightmare. A very new and different kind of thriller!”

“Lucky Bastard” is a “found footage” thriller about a porn website run by Mike (Don McManus) that invites fans to have sex with porn stars. Jay Paulson plays Dave, an eager young fan given a chance to have sex with the fabulous Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue). But everyone gets more than they bargained in the seemingly mild-mannered Dave...to gruesome results. The film is captured by the “Lucky Bastard” porn cameras for a fresh take on the “found footage” genre. The film is directed by Robert Nathan with the cast including Don McManus, Jay Paulson, Betsy Rue, Chris Wylde, Catherine Annette, Lanny Joon and Lee Kholafai. Check out the trailer below. Reminder that this film is not yet rated.

“Lucky Bastard” is film of a graphic nature, sexual situations, violence and uncensored language place it firmly in the realm of American independent cinema, with an angle on life distinctly outside that of traditional Hollywood mainstream films. The film is set in a world ostensibly considered contemptible, but depicts it in ways that we don’t expect. For the characters of the movie, pornography is simply an industry like any other, with regular working people going to work every day and earning a living.

The story centers on Mike (McManus), who runs the Lucky Bastard website; Dave (Paulson), a young fan given a chance to have sex with a porn actress; and Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue), the porn star who reluctantly agrees to participate in the website’s “have sex with a porn star” contest. In the end, everyone gets more than they bargained for when the seemingly mild-mannered Dave is irrevocably transformed by his experience.

The movie is is a mix of themes that epitomize independent filmmaking. Going behind the scenes of one of our largest entertainment industries, the film offers a reflective take on the deepest currents in our society: its preoccupation with sexual desire, the commoditization of sexuality, and humiliation as a product of commerce.