The Ruse

Well that was enjoyable! I just got done seeing Stevan Mena 's new suspense/thriller, "The Ruse". It reminded me of something that seems to have almost become extinct in today's movies, and something I miss. That being of a slow burn, suspense building story, reminiscent of many of the great films that the legendary Alfred Hitchcock wrote and directed. The movie stars Hitchcock alumni Veronica Cartwright (The Birds), who has been acting in movies since 1958 (67 years!), as an elderly former composer that lives alone, who now suffers from dementia, as well as OCD, and needs a live-in nurse. There is something "off" and a little creepy about her character, Olivia Stone. Cartwright's portrayal is nothing short of her performances in a lot of her other great films (Aliens, Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1978) Fairly new up and coming actress Madelyn Dundon (in her 3rd film) gives a phenomenal performance as the fill-in live-in nurse after the previous nurse goes "missing". Like other actors that started early in their careers in some of Mena's films and went on to become stars (Alexandra Daddario and Peyton List), I see a similar path for Dundon. I loved the overhead shots of the small town atmosphere surrounded by rivers, of which each individual house seem to have their own character to them (and Olivia's, though beautiful, has a creepy feel to it). The suspenseful music was spot on and set a atmospheric tone and enhanced each scenes.

Mystery thriller finds home care nurse Dale (Madelyn Dundon) being sent to the house of ailing orchestra conductor Olivia (Veronica Cartwright) when her current caregiver disappears. Dale herself has just come off a suspension stemming from the accidental death of her last patient. It's a challenge. Not only is Olivia immobile and suffering from dementia and OCD, but the house is rumored to be haunted by her late husband Albert. Soon strange things start occurring and Dale is finding there are some questions as to what really happened to her predecessor. As she begins to try and piece things together the mystery deepens, and Dale starts to believe she might be in danger...but the question is, from who?

Old fashioned style mystery is written and directed by Stevan Mena going in a different direction after his cult classic Malevolence slasher trilogy. He delivers a film that delightfully evokes some of those old school haunted house mysteries of yesteryear but with a contemporary enough edge to not come across as nostalgia. There are some spooky sequences, some nice tension and atmosphere and a few moments of impacting violence, especially in the last act when we start to get some answers ...or do we? Mena does keep us guessing and for the first two thirds The Ruse is a chilling and intense slow burn till the third act reveals and even then, not everything is as it seems. Whodunnit? What is actually going on? You will find out all the answers eventually and if the film has any flaw, it's that it doesn't quite let us enjoy some of the red herrings long enough till moving on to the next one. It changes possible suspects a little too quickly when we should have been left to believe the suspicions a little longer before the next revelation. It's still an entertaining homage to not only old-fashioned mysteries but the type of thrillers that were prolific in the 80s and 90s. A solid thriller that that makes good use of its not only the Maine locations but Mena's horror film background when things get intense or spooky. The cinematography from Cory Geryak is excellent, especially the drone shots, and Mena himself provides an atmospheric score.

The cast here is good. Veronica Cartwright is strong as the ailing but still proud Olivia. She can be tough and yet fragile, sometimes in the same scene, and having had personal experience with someone with dementia, she nails the unpredictability and anguish perfectly. Madelyn Dundon is a very likable heroine as Dale. Some of her delivery in the earlier scenes seemed a little stiff at times but she rises to the occasion when it counts most, especially in the intense last act. Michael Steger is good as neighbor Tom. He gives his single dad next door an air of mystery which suits the material as Mena obviously doesn't want us to trust anyone. T. C. Carter is efficient as the pervy grocery delivery boy Jacob, Nicola Jeanette Silber is good as Tom's daughter Penny, and Michael Bakkensen is solid as Detective Burke who gets to be our Maine version of Columbo in the last act's fun final reveal.

Overall, the film was very entertaining, and it was good to see Mena back in the writing/directing/editing chairs once again after a six-year break. It's a bit of old school mystery, mixed with some 80/90s thriller with a pinch of haunted house movie thrown in. There is tension, atmosphere and a deliberately slow burn pace till the plot starts to thicken in the last third. The only flaw is that it moves through some of the red herrings a little too fast for us to really appreciate/believe them before moving on to the next. Its final big reveal may not have been a complete shock, but the scene is clever fun, and it was an entertaining and sometimes spooky ride getting there.

Stevan Mena did a phenomenal job with this mystery thriller, at one point I felt like I was watching it adaptation of a Stephen King novel and other points felt like pure old school Hitchcock Presents. It has all the typical tropes of a Hitchcock film with spot on pacing, and shot beautifully. There are a lot of twist and turns, in a unique setting, great tension building throughout the film. Cast was phenomenal, one thing Stevan Mena does well in all his films is find those untapped talents. Watch every single one of these unknown names in this movie, They all have a very bright future out of them.

I watched The Ruse (2024) in theaters last night. The story follows a woman desperate for work who lands a recently vacated caretaker position. She soon discovers that the woman she's caring for is far more than she bargained for-and may be connected to the mysterious disappearance of the previous caretaker.

The film is written and directed by Stevan Mena (Malevolence) and stars Veronica Cartwright (Alien), Michael Steger (90210), Madelyn Dundon (Lucky Louie), and Drew Moerlein (Bloodline Killer).

This is a movie that feels uneven in just about every way. Veronica Cartwright delivers a fantastic performance, keeping the film intense, unpredictable, and charged with uncertainty. Her dialogue, mannerisms, and delivery are consistently strong. Unfortunately, Madelyn Dundon's performance is noticeably stiff, often coming across as inauthentic. Her facial expressions and body language frequently don't align with what's happening in the scene, though it's hard to say how much of that stems from her acting versus the writing.

I did enjoy the cinematography-there are some clever uses of black-and-white visuals and well-chosen camera angles that effectively build tension. However, the kill scenes rely on cutaways, which I always find frustrating. That said, the ending is pretty fun and left me wishing the rest of the film had taken more kills along the way.

In conclusion, The Ruse has enough worthwhile elements to hold your attention, but not enough to stand out in the genre. I'd give it a 5.5-6/10 and recommend seeing it once.

The Ruse reminded me of an old school thriller. The director didn't spell things out for you, he allowed you to take the ride ! The cinematography was beautiful, the use of lighting was impactful and I really liked the dialogue. Movies , of late are typically rapid fire bantering, not with this . I felt like the writing ( and directing ) gave the actors a chance to sit in their roles and really shine. I'm usually decent at predicting " who Dunn it's", I thought I knew for certain, but I was wrong😳! I love that the movie tricked me , it's been a while since that's happened . Im not new to Stevan Mena's work, been a fan for a while and he outdid himself ! Superb job by all involved . Made a rainy day at the movies very well worth it !