Review of The Conspiracy (2012) by Carlos D — 03 Jul 2014

Conspiracy theorists finally have a film, non-documentary, that doesn't openly mock them or what they believe. Here's the thing about conspiracy theories, and what I think of them, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

That's probably one of the reasons I do not believe in god, and because I find the complete concept absurd. Of course the loophole some people use when it comes to conspiracy theories, or god, is that you can disprove them.

Which is a fair and valid point, but the burden of proof does not lie on me, it lies on the people making these claims. Another thing that irks me about theorists is that absolutely everything that happens, a world event of some sort, or a natural disaster, has some sort of dark implications on some government.

Whether they planned it or knew about it and didn't try to do their best to let others know, everything is a conspiracy nowadays. And that really takes a lot away from some of these people, not everything can be a conspiracy.

Sometimes bad things happen just because that's the way the world works, not everything is controlled by the Illuminati, or the Freemasons, or a clandestine organization hoping to achieve a one world government.

And, perhaps, the thing that bothers me most of all is the air of elitism that permeates throughout SOME, read that some, not all, of these theorists. If you don't believe their claims then you're a sheep, doing exactly what the government wants you to do.

I get these people's need to know the truth, as I'm sure there's clandestine organizations where people with a lot of power meet to discuss their agendas and how they can gain more power, but don't hold yourself above others thinking you know the real truth and everyone is being fed a lie.

I'm fascinated by conspiracy theories to be honest with you. I rarely believe any of them, but I find them fascinating and fun to explore. With that little rant out of the way, don't even know why I got into that, perhaps I don't have much to say about this film.

I thought this film was good as it certainly delivers a story that drags you into its 'world'. I say world because the film absolutely benefits from its utilization of real life conspiracy theories.

I think it's obvious that this is a mockumentary, but if you didn't know any of the actors in the film, then some people could mistake this film for fact. Like I said, the usage of real conspiracy theories gives it an air of legitimacy.

Of course, and this is obvious if you've followed conspiracy theories, that the Tarsus Club is an obvious allusion to the Bohemian Club, a very similar organization where very powerful men meet over a period of two weeks at a campground known as, obviously, Bohemian Grove.

The film sees the directors of the 'documentary' infiltrating the Tarsus Club after Terrance, the man their film is focused on, mysteriously disappears. Eventually, the filmmakers find out that the Tarsus Club has had meetings prior to world events/tragedies.

It's implied that the Tarsus Club was behind JFK's assassination, 9/11, among others. The infiltration of the Tarsus Club meeting in the third act is definitely the highlight of the film. It is taut and well-shot.

Again, there's an air of legitimacy to it all. This is just a good movie. Perhaps the main problem is that in going for a 'realistic' approach, by using so many real-life references to conspiracy theories, it doesn't really feel like this movie has its own identity.

Yes, it's good and actually pretty cleverly written, but it doesn't really feel like it has its own identity. It simply borrows too much for it to be a truly great film, at least in my opinion.

This is still a good movie, but it desperately needed its own identity, rather than relying so much on existing conspiracy theories.