Conspiracy follows the same blueprint as Lies And Deception: UFOs And The Secret Agenda, another Reality Films release, combining a short, 50-minute feature doc with an hour-long extra doc, and 20-minutes of trailers for further Reality Films. The Conspiracy part deals mainly with 9/11 conspiracy theories, and not so much with the Illuminati. A short interview with Gary Cook in front of the cheap red curtain starts things off, before things get all confusing and Meta on you, the viewer. The bulk of this doc appears to be ported over from a previously aired British Cable TV interview show. The interview subject is director William Lewis, of 911 In Plane Site: The Movie, his scowling visage (in freeze frame) accompanies his telephone interview, and what seems to be tons of footage from yet another TV program (a FOX News report, no less) that devotes much of its time to filming a laptop computer and explaining things seen thereon. Shows within shows within shows, man, so much so that I forgot where I was while watching.

As with all documentaries tasked with proving that black ops within the government are responsible for killing thousands of Americans in order to start a pair of economy-destroying wars, the proof is in the pudding. What we're presented with is more of a Twinkie than pudding. I will admit two pieces of visual evidence have me befuddled - anyone who has even lightly delved into this subject will know them well: the weird bump on the bottom of one of the twin towers airliners, and the seeming lack of physical evidence consistent with a jetliner crashing into the Pentagon. These and many more puzzlers come trotting out, some compelling, some ludicrous. My complaint here and with other sources of this type of speculation is the fact that these things are extrapolated into vast conspiracy theories instead of looked at critically as anomalies.

Further weakening Conspiracy claims is the manner in which these things are presented, with an air of 'you'd be crazy to disagree' haughtiness, and the fact that absolutely no evidence from debunking camps is on display. Balance is not part of this equation.

After this weird, bad-memories-resurrecting 9/11 foofaraw, we're treated to another segment from this unnamed British conspiracy show, this one concerning a British entity known as Common Purpose, a construct designed to develop leadership spanning business, civil service and government. According to interview subjects Common Purpose operates on clandestine and semi-clandestine levels, nominating elitist personages who meet acceptable levels of venality, only to then indoctrinate them through months and years-long secret training. The purpose of Common Purpose? Possibly to destroy social benefits of government (police, schools, etc.) in order to turn the UK into a totalitarian state. Sounds reasonable to me! At any rate, this mostly suffices for the inclusion of the word 'Illuminati' in the title, as near as I can tell.

Still in all, if you're in the right frame of mind - and judging from the use of generic butt-rock in the soundtrack and trippy CGI visuals, I'd guess Reality Films would like you to be in the stoned state of mind - Conspiracy is interesting, entertaining viewing, with far more layers and levels to hold the impaired mind in place than are present in Lies And Deception. Check your mind at the door and bring a big old salt-lick and you might have some fun.

The DVD

Video:
Our DVD-Rom screener presents a 1.78:1 ratio image, the quality of which I can't speculate on, as the screener doesn't represent final product. For what it's worth, the screener wouldn't even play properly on my machine, (which hasn't had any problems with other studio-provided DVD-Roms) forcing my to watch it on my laptop.

Sound:
I also won't characterize the Stereo Audio quality, except to say that obvious care was taken to make a somewhat interesting mix of the to my ears irritating soundtrack.

Extras:
After the 50-minute feature documentary you get an hour-long extra (yet again from the same mysterious TV program) titled The Moon Landings, With Theo Chalmers And Marcus Allen. Allen, UK publisher of Nexus Magazine, comes across as a nice, intelligent guy, who happens to believe all of the moon landings were faked. Photographic evidence (shadows from the sun all wrong, stiletto heel footprints in the moon dust, and other anomalies) is used to propose that all moon landing evidence comes from staged exercises conducted on Earth. I swear, I don't know what to believe anymore. 20-minutes of Trailers for similarly themed Reality Films releases will finish you off nicely.

Final Thoughts:
The Conspiracy To Rule The World: From 911 To The Illuminati represents mildly entertaining oddness and wild speculation presented as fact. Some 9/11 evidence is indeed intriguing and compelling, but lack of counterpoint makes the notion that the US government orchestrated terrorist attacks hard to swallow under any circumstances. At least these ideas - and those in the fake-moon-landing extra - make for diverting viewing, even if revisiting the whole 9/11 disaster is extremely disturbing. As a documentary, Conspiracy fails on all counts, (other than providing the nominal entertainment promised by the manufacturer) but if you list The X-Files, Fringe and NORML on your Facebook page, and you're hard up for shameful entertainment on a Friday night, you might Rent It. (But don't tell me.)

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