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An independent film that is now playing in theaters nationwide was co-produced by a local resident and volunteer fire official.

Scott Krycia is the president of Lower Saucon Fire Rescue, but when he’s not battling blazes and doing behind-the-scenes work that helps ensure the community’s safety, he is a professional photographer, videographer, director and producer.

A Fountain Hill resident, Krycia co-produced Mena Films’ ‘The Ruse,’ which was released Friday and stars veteran Hollywood actress Veronica Cartwright and Bethlehem native Madelyn Dundon. Dundon began receiving attention for her acting after starring in ‘Getting Grace’ (2018), which was directed by Christmas City native and well-known actor Daniel Roebuck.

The Ruse Cartwright — Described by co-producer Scott Krycia as “a throwback to the ’90s style murder mystery (films),” ‘The Ruse’ stars Veronica Cartwright as a bedridden patient in a seaside home in Maine. Cartwright’s Hollywood career spans more than six decades and has included roles in famous films such as Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ (1963) and ‘Alien’ (1979). (Credit: Mena Films)

Krycia has been involved in filmmaking for over 20 years and has worked on numerous projects with Stevan Mena, who wrote, directed and produced ‘The Ruse.’ In the past, Krycia said he worked with Mena as a crew member, but he became a co-producer and worked as a first assistant director on ‘The Ruse,’ which was filmed on location in Maine in 2023.

“It’s your classic kind of whodunit story,” he said. “It’s really a murder mystery.”

The plot revolves around a wealthy, elderly woman (played by Cartwright) who is bedridden and receiving assistance from a home health care worker, Dale (played by Dundon). As the story unfolds, other characters are introduced and the audience learns that Dale was hired to replace a health care worker who recently disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Bethlehem native Madelyn Dundon stars in ‘The Ruse,’ which opens in theaters nationwide May 16. Dundon plays the role of a health care aide named Dale who stumbles upon a mystery when she arrives at a patient’s home in coastal Maine. (Credit: Mena Films)

“Who actually is committing these crimes and trying to get to this lady and her money?” is what Krycia said audience members will likely be trying to figure out as the movie progresses. The answers, he said, are “all revealed at the end.”

Krycia said filming ‘The Ruse’ took over a month and involved multiple round-trips between the Lehigh Valley and coastal Maine, as well as lots of driving within Maine. Because the movie was set in a relatively remote area near Acadia National Park, transportation was somewhat challenging, but Krycia said the setting was “beautiful.”

‘The Ruse’ was shot and produced with a crew of 10 people on a budget of approximately $600,000, one quarter of which he said was spent on renting the camera used by cinematographer Cory Geryak, who has worked on movies such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (2023) and is a Lehigh Valley native.

Although the bulk of filming took place two summers ago, Krycia and others involved with the project returned to Maine last May for 24 hours of reshoots that were necessary due to editing the film.

“The movie’s changed a lot,” he said, noting that the original version was over two hours in length. Due to changes made in editing, the final cut–which is rated R–is one hour and 45 minutes long.

‘The Ruse’ has been shown at several prestigious film festivals, including the Maine International Film Festival, where it won the Best Feature award. After that it was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, which Krycia said led to the producers receiving distribution offers from several major film studios. Ultimately, he said those offers “weren’t great” and they decided to distribute ‘The Ruse’ themselves through Mena’s production company, Mena Films.

That has meant handling advertising and securing all of the bookings for the movie as well as getting the movie rated by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA); tasks Krycia said have been part of an eye-opening “learning process.”

“It’s very last minute,” he said. “The last three weeks have been intense.”

Krycia said a week ago ‘The Ruse’ was set to open May 16 in about 100 theaters, but as of Thursday it was opening in nearly 400.

In a week or so he said the movie will either expand into additional theaters or be cut from some, according to what its ticket sales are like. After the film’s initial theatrical run of two to three weeks concludes, ‘The Ruse’ will be available for streaming.

Locally, movie-goers can catch ‘The Ruse’ at the AMC Center Valley 16 at the Promenade Saucon Valley in Center Valley. In Pennsylvania, is also being shown at theaters in Warrington, Bensalem and King of Prussia. A full list of theaters where it is playing throughout the country can be found on the film’s website, TheRuseMovie.com.

Krycia said he doesn’t expect to work on any additional projects with Mena Films–with whom he is now a partner–until next year. However, he said the company is “always open to submissions” and hopes to distribute other films in the near future.

In addition to his work with Mena Films, he regularly produces video content for his YouTube channel (@scottkrycia), which feature travel, technology and other subjects.

More information about his work can be found at ScottKrycia.com and more information about The Ruse can be found at TheRuseMovie.com and MenaFilms.org.