The Ruse

Stevan Mena's The Ruse may have a few fun twists in its climax, but the lead up is an overlong, poorly performed mess of clichés and red herrings.

Hollywood desperate for content on the big screen is now elevating what should be made for TV movies or direct to VOD onto the big screen.

If you’re going to make a movie that hinges on the concept of a haunting taking place, it’s probably not a good idea to give everything away in the title.


It's not a great sign when a movie needs to devote about ten minutes to a character bluntly explaining everything that has happened ... in its story.

Dull, shallow and contrived with an increasingly preposterous plot.

With the title The Ruse, at least writer/director Stevan Mena has done the courtesy of letting viewers know there is little to trust here and that there is a high probability that the story will be absurd and implausible

What could have been a tidy little horror/thriller struggles for air with a surplus of exposition and explanation. Usually the best way to scare is to withhold.

There are tropes in The Ruse, but it is more of a mystery than a horror movie. And it is this mystery that makes it so intriguing.

The film spends so much time tying itself up in knots with potential storylines and dramatic tangents that by the time it reaches its dizzying conclusion, it offers up only a frustratingly long yet dull explanation.

When Cartwright is not on screen, The Ruse falls into the doldrums. It is a small, creaky horror movie that has one idea and fails to deliver anything beyond that for the viewer.