--- name: "Lucky McKee" canonical: "https://film.one/person/lucky-mckee" fi1m_id: "lucky-mckee" imdb_id: "nm1031246" tmdb_id: 51534 wikidata_id: "Q361727" roles: ["Director"] born: "1 November 1975" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "director" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-17T21:13:12.282242+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lucky McKee ## Identity Lucky McKee - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lucky-mckee - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** lucky-mckee - **IMDb ID:** nm1031246 - **TMDB ID:** 51534 - **Wikidata ID:** Q361727 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_McKee, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q361727, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1031246/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/51534 Director. Born 1 November 1975 in Jenny Lind, California, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 1 November 1975, Jenny Lind, California, USA - **Also known as:** Edward Lucky McKee - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_McKee, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q361727, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1031246/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/51534 ## Streaming the US now - **Peacock:** [*Poker Face*](https://film.one/tv/poker-face.md) (82) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Lucky McKee > Lucky McKee is worth following for his attention to isolated women and the actors playing them. His horror is less persuasive when uneven pacing and changes of tone distract from the people caught up in it. Loneliness matters in Lucky McKee's horror. He often puts women at the centre, bringing isolation, bodily danger and dark humour into stories built around character. We rate him most when the performance holds our attention without needing another shock to help it along. *May* (2002), his breakthrough as writer and director, makes Angela Bettis the sensible starting point for an acquaintance with his work: the strength of the lead performance is central to its appeal. McKee began by co-directing *All Cheerleaders Die* (2001) with Chris Sivertson, and the pair returned to it for the 2013 remake. His other important partnership is with novelist and co-writer Jack Ketchum, whose work provided the basis for *The Woman* (2011). Here the handling of abuse and violence comes with a reservation about pacing and changes of tone. We do not need the material made comfortable, but we do need those changes to feel controlled rather than interrupt our involvement with the characters. Television entered the picture with *Masters of Horror* (2006), well before his work on Rian Johnson's *Poker Face* (2023), including 'Time of the Monkey'. The latter is excellent company, largely because Natasha Lyonne makes the business of catching a killer so engaging. We were cheered by her performance and the pleasure the programme takes in doing that work. That warmth belongs to the series, not to McKee alone, but its interest in character and humour makes him a sensible choice of director. A few *Poker Face* cases dawdle, especially when the most interesting person is kept off screen, so our recommendation comes with a caveat. That dependence on the people in the story is also what makes McKee worth following outside television. The contained thriller *Old Man* (2022) offers another example of his visual precision within a confined space. Start with *May* for Bettis, then try *Poker Face* when the evening calls for something more companionable. ## Biography Lucky McKee, also credited as Edward Lucky McKee, is an American film and television director, writer and actor. He was born on 1 November 1975 in Jenny Lind, California, and studied at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. McKee is best known for his work in horror, including the feature films *May* (2002) and *The Woman* (2011). His other directing credits include *The Woods* (2006), *All Cheerleaders Die* (2013, co-directed with Chris Sivertson), *Tales of Halloween* (2015) and *Old Man* (2022). He has also directed episodes of the anthology series *Masters of Horror* (2005) and the mystery series *Poker Face* (2023). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, elpasofilmfestival.org.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Poker Face* (2023), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/poker-face.md) ## Complete filmography (28) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Weird Kidz* (2026), Producer - *Poker Face* (2023), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/poker-face.md) - *Old Man* (2022), Director - *First Date* (2021), Producer - *Dad on the Wall* (2020), as Mike McKee - *Deathcember* (2019), Director, Writer - *Darlin'* (2019), Executive Producer - *Kindred Spirits* (2019), Director - *The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot* (2019), Producer - *Blood Money* (2017), Director - *Elsie Hooper* (2016), Producer - *Tales of Halloween* (2015), Director, Writer - *All Cheerleaders Die* (2013), Director, Screenplay - *Jug Face* (2013), Executive Producer - *The Woman* (2011), Director, Writer, Novel - *Blue Like You* (2008), as Patrick · Director, Writer - *Red* (2008), Director - *Roman* (2006), as Roman · Writer - *The Woods* (2006), Director - *The Lost* (2006), Producer - *Sick Girl* (2006), Director, Teleplay - *Masters of Horror* (2005), series, Writer, Director - *May* (2003), as Guy Making Out in the Elevator (uncredited) · Director, Screenplay, Music Supervisor - *All Cheerleaders Die* (2001), Director, Screenplay - *Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!* (1997), as Woodsy - *Broken Ridge*, Director - *Untitled Geretta Geretta Horror*, Actor - *Boilly*, Director ## Gallery - ![Lucky McKee](https://film.one/media/person/46481/gallery-1074e46ef965.jpg) Lucky McKee — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Lucky_McKee.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Lucky McKee](https://film.one/media/person/46481/gallery-c550a84fab5d.jpg) Lucky McKee — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Other awards — 2 won - Sitges Film Festival Best Screenplay award 2011: Sitges Film Festival Best Screenplay award (won), for *The Woman* - Sitges Film Festival Best Screenplay award 2002: Sitges Film Festival Best Screenplay award (won), for *May* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lucky-mckee