The Conspiracy (2012)

Directed by Christopher MacBride [Other horror films: N/A]

The Conspiracy isn’t an easy movie to rate, the reason being that while some portions are taut and compelling, as an overall experience, it feels, at least to me, just a bit of a let-down.

When I first saw the film some years back, I didn’t hold an altogether different opinion, as I found it average. I mostly still feel the same way – the movie does get some things right, and I think it’s a clever idea and a good usage of found footage – but I can’t help but feel that I wanted a bit more from the finale. I wouldn’t go as far as to call the ending unsatisfactory, but I definitely feel that it lacks that punch I was looking for.

Now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, or, at least I don’t consider myself one. Even so, much of what Terrance’s character (A.C. Peterson) said was stuff I can understand. The Gulf of Tonkin was most certainly a ploy by the US government to get us stuck in the Vietnam War, which was an utter atrocity. That’s not a conspiracy, but fact. I have friends who have dabbled in some conspiracies about 9/11, some of which can even be compelling at times, but ultimately, the idea that Islamic extremists attacked the USA seems logical to me.

I want to be clear, though, that if it comes out that the US did indeed orchestrate 9/11, I wouldn’t be surprised – my feelings toward the USA aren’t positive whatsoever (look at how many leaders we’ve overthrown – Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran, João Goulart in Brazil, Salvador Allende in Chile, Maurice Bishop in Grenada, and Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala). It’s just that, in this case, I don’t necessarily think it’s the US’s doing (in the normal sense; certainly the way we’ve treated the Middle East throughout history personally leads me to seeing 9/11 as potential self-defense on their parts).

This, however, is not meant to be a political blog. I am a socialist, I do despise the USA, I do despise capitalism, and I encourage voting for third parties, but for the most part, none of this matters when it comes to movies. In The Conspiracy’s case, I think it’s important to point out that while I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist, I also don’t think that they’re without warrant in many cases. I’ll grant you that the FEMA camps and New World Order sorts can be a bit much, but I honestly feel that people who gravitate toward conspiracy theories are mostly good people trying to understand the world.

I rather loved the idea of the Tarsus Club, which really does sound like Bohemian Club (an all-men’s private club) and the Council of Foreign Relations (a US think tank), and the addition of the worship of Mithras, along with the pageantry and rituals, makes it feel like it could be a real organization out there. The movie does feel realistic, which is true to the very conclusion, which may partially explain why it has a somewhat anticlimactic feel.

There’s really only three performances I wanted to mention. Aaron Poole (not to be confused with Aaron Paul, though he looks remarkably similar to him) and James Gilbert made for good leads, Poole (The Void) having a bit more character than Gilbert (The Corridor), but both giving a realistic performance. Bruce Clayton was also decent, though we almost never saw his face. Such is the life of those who research secret societies.

The ending of the film is pretty intense, at least for a bit. There are some good scenes, some frantic scenes, and while few scenes were scary, certainly some were suspenseful. And to be fair, though I don’t personally love the way the film ends, it sort of makes sense in context, especially after we see more editing being done to the pre-existing film.

Overall, I don’t dislike The Conspiracy. I also don’t particularly like it. It just exists, as if it were a rain cloud on a day with no breeze. It’s there. It’s nice to look at if you want a balm to this pointless existence, but it’s little more than that. All of this is to say I think the movie is fine. It’s not good, it’s not bad, and while it definitely had potential to be great, it simply just is, and for that, I have to rate it around average.

7/10