The 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer may have been the last person to come to mind while watching “Your Lucky Day,” the first feature by writer and director Daniel Brown, but, then, “Last House on the Left” (1972), the sordid debut from Wes Craven, didn’t immediately call out Ingmar Berman or, rather, his 1960 masterpiece, “The Virgin Spring.” Artists are sponges: Influences can come from anywhere.

Pulling “The Canterbury Tales” from the shelf, I reacquainted myself with “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the story on which Mr. Brown based his movie. It details how three men of scurrilous character plan to snatch a bag of gold coins belonging to a “privee thief” who has recently murdered one of their colleagues. Before making away with the booty, their wastrel ways get the better of them: food and drink are called for. I won’t spoil the upshot of Chaucer’s story, but that thief’s name? Death.

“O cursed sin, full of abominableness!/O treacherous homicide! O wickedness!” That elaborate run of words could have served as an appropriate, if somewhat highfalutin, introductory title card for “Your Lucky Day.” Instead, Mr. Brown forsook Chaucer and settled for his own commentary: “This movie is based on the American dream.” You don’t need a Ph.D. in cynicism to intuit that he’s about to underline how “our collective belief in this false dream is pitiable.”

Which isn’t to say Mr. Brown doesn’t have a point when he rambles on about “families unable to pay their medical bills,” or, more important, that he hasn’t crafted a swift and pulpy thriller in which economic fatigue figures prominently. From the cop under suspicion to the pregnant waitress to the drug dealer whose latest transaction has gone awry — there’s not a single character in “Your Lucky Day” who isn’t feeling the crunch.

Mr. Brown’s picture is a morality play in which the immoral takes precedence. Like “The Pardoner’s Tale,” “Your Lucky Day” follows the ramifications of a single night in which greed infects its characters like a virus. Death, albeit less personified here, is forever looming. 

The film takes place in the grottier byways of Los Angeles, predominantly unfolding in a nondescript convenience store. It’s late. Amir (Mousa Hussein Kraish) tends to the register with world-weary resignation. A varied, bordering on motley, run of shoppers is picking up oddments or succumbing to late-night cravings. A young cop scuttles in to use the restroom. An obnoxious boomer checks on his lottery tickets. Oh, and it’s Christmas time.

But, then, Mr. Laird (Spencer Garrett) realizes that his lottery numbers have come up. He’s won $156 million. The joyous whooping that ensues catches the eye of Sterling (Angus Cloud), the young hood whose drug deal has gone south. Creating an impromptu mask from a roll of Scotch tape and the pages of a porn magazine, Sterling trains a gun on Laird and demands the ticket. 

Amir attempts to smooth things over. A young couple, Abraham (Elliot Knight) and Ana (Jessica Garza), huddle by the ice cream freezer. All the while rookie cop Cody (Sterling Beaumon) is finishing up in the bathroom, curious as to the cause of the hubbub outside.

Things take a nasty turn. Shots are fired. Bodies are hauled to the back of the store. When that lottery ticket becomes the holy grail for all and sundry, every subsequent turn — and there are not a few in this resourcefully plotted movie — gets nastier. Alliances are made, plans are hatched, and principles conveniently laid aside. Ana proves to be a criminal mastermind. And then more cops show up. Kind of.

Should you like your noir on the cheap and over the top, Mr. Brown’s film will fit the bill. The red herrings, blind alleys, and unlikely coincidences are cleverly concocted, if sometimes a bit pleased with themselves. The ensemble cast is blessed with a stand-out performance by McCloud, whose scarifying nuances make his untimely death last July all the more reason to mourn his talent. 

Put “Your Lucky Day” on a bill with grubby fare like “Obsession” (1959) or “D.O.A” (1950) and it would do the tradition proud. As for Chaucer up in heaven, he would likely recognize the hellish doings Mr. Brown has brought us here on the earthly plain.