Get ready to test your luck.
The creative powerhouse behind the indie darling Re:Uniting is officially back, and this time, things are getting a little more dangerous. Director Laura Adkin and producer Krista Rand are reteaming for a high-stakes, female-driven heist movie titled Out of Luck, and fans are already buzzing about the “girl power” energy.
The project isn’t just another thriller—it marks a major milestone for New York Times bestselling author Catherine McKenzie. Known for her twisty novels like I’ll Never Tell and The Good Liar, McKenzie has officially penned her very first original screenplay.
The plot sounds like a total adrenaline rush. Set against the backdrop of St. Patrick’s Day, the film follows a group of defiant women who decide to stop waiting for good fortune and start making their own.
Their plan? To plot a suspenseful revenge heist against the man who wronged them, targeting his chain of Irish bars.
“When Catherine came to me with this idea, I jumped at the opportunity to work with her on it,” Adkin said in an exclusive statement. “Out of Luck is a high-stakes, suspenseful, female-driven heist movie with a unique Canadian flair.”
Adkin is no stranger to emotional, high-impact storytelling. Her feature debut Re:Uniting, which starred Law & Order legend Jesse L. Martin and Michelle Harrison, made a splash at the Austin Film Festival and earned rave reviews during its theatrical run.
Now, she’s trading the heartfelt drama of Re:Uniting for the grit and glamour of a heist in Budapest. The film is set to be a co-production between Vancouver’s Flat/Head Films and Hungary’s Scripted Productions.
For McKenzie, the transition from novels to the big screen feels like a natural evolution. With books under her belt—including the beloved Vacation Mysteries series written under her pseudonym Catherine Mack—she knows exactly how to keep an audience on the edge of their seats.
“With Out of Luck, I’m looking to bring the same sensibility that has made me a long-standing success as a novelist to Canadian filmmaking,” McKenzie shared.
She also noted that audiences are more than ready for this kind of commercial, home-grown storytelling. “The Canadian public is hungry for home-grown commercial film projects, especially given the current political climate,” she added.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. The duo, along with producer Krista Rand and cinematographer Stirling Bancroft (of Final Destination Bloodlines fame), are heading to the Cannes Film Festival to secure additional financing.
This major career move comes just as McKenzie prepares for another viral moment: the release of her next Vacation Mysteries book on April , .
Between a potential box office hit and a new bestseller on the horizon, it looks like is going to be the year of Catherine McKenzie and Laura Adkin.
We don’t know about you, but we’re already placing our bets on this being the next must-watch thriller. Stay tuned for casting updates—this is one heist you won’t want to miss!
