Taking place in the fictitious college town of Silvercreek, Maeve (Corin Clay) and Charlie (Mick Thyer) discover that a long-time urban legend and the community’s high suicide rate are intertwined with scandalous romance as a supernatural being from the afterlife known as Clara Miller (April Clark) violently kills anyone who cheats on their significant other.

As a follow up to their 2021 film “The Long Dark Trail” Ignatius and Psinakis were continuing to further explore horror. However, for their newest creation, the pair wanted to go in a different direction while staying within the confines of the genre. The decision and subsequent script proved successful as “The Final Say” and “EDYH” actress Corin Clay was able to fully embrace the role of Maeve, a transfer student who sleeps with a married man, Charlie, that results in both sensing the deadly curse of Clara closing in on them.

“I’ve always been afraid to watch horror, but I’ve always wanted to be in horror films,” said Clay. “In EDYH, I was the horror. I played the scary character. What appealed to me about “Cheat” was that I could be the heroine. I also loved what seemed like the innocence of Maeve and how she played so well into the plot. “Cheat” is a film that I would have watched even if I wasn’t a part of the production. It was such an honor to be cast as Maeve.”

The passion for the role that Clay had for Maeve was also seen by Ignatius throughout the project.

Photos submitted to the Times Observer Point of view on filming Charlie Walker (Mick Thyer) and Maeve (Corin Clay) at a residence in Warren acting as Charlie's home.

“Corin was such a talent to work with,” Ignatius said. “She truly puts everything she has into the preparation and that is so vital to overall performance.”

Corin’s counterpart in the film is a longtime friend of Ignatius, Australian born Shakespearean -trained actor Mick Thyer. The role of Charlie Walker was specifically created with Thyer in mind, according to Ignatius, who previously cast him in “The Long Dark Trail.”

“Nick and I always cast Mick in our films because he just seems to grasp what we are looking for out of a scene in regard to dynamic,” said Ignatius.

In addition to Thyer, fellow “The Long Dark Trail” co-star, Brady O’Donnell was cast as Ollie. The role, like Thyer’s, was developed to fit O’Donnell’s strengths, which allowed the Sheffield, Pennsylvania native to portray a more natural character on screen.

“Brady O’Donnell is always a joy to work with and while he won’t admit it, he has a special talent for understanding scene dialogue and the delivery and pacing of that,” Ignatius said.

Photo submitted to the Times Observer Kevin Ignatious (right) and Nick Psinakis (left) observing the filming of "Cheat".

Clay also praised O’Donnell for his role in the film, calling him, “perfectly cast.”

“Working with him was a blast,” said Clay. “Another person in particular would be Doc (Ignatius). He played the role of Eli so well and it really translated on screen. There are so many others. Everyone was great. It’s hard to believe that some of them have never acted in anything before.”

Along with O’Donnell, other local talent included, Kyle Corbin, Baylie Hoffman, Jenn Scalise, Will Bunk, Paul Ignatius, Sr., Alex Foley, Thomas Paquette, Carter O’Donnell, Rod Eadie, Brandon Williams, Tyler Settelmaier, Trina Campbell, and Janie Villella Sharon.