You Can Handle the Truth! Why Movies Suddenly Love Conspiracy Theories

A new group of movies is arriving in theaters and on streaming platforms, and they all share something in common: they are about secrets, cover-ups, and hidden truths. Films like Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day,' Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Bugonia,' and the mysterious thriller 'Backrooms' are pushing stories about governments hiding aliens, powerful elites lying to the public, and ordinary people uncovering shocking secrets. These movies are coming out at a time when millions of Americans say they believe in conspiracy theories — the idea that powerful people are secretly working together to hide the truth. Critics and audiences are asking: why are so many filmmakers telling these kinds of stories right now?

Steven Spielberg, one of Hollywood's most famous directors, is leading this new wave with 'Disclosure Day.' The film stars Josh O'Connor as Daniel Kellner, a young man who carries a backpack full of government secrets that he says prove aliens are real. Spielberg, who is 79, even appears in the movie's trailer himself, speaking like a news anchor to make the story feel real. He says in the trailer, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful for people to know that all of this is true?' The film is fiction, but Spielberg presents it in a way that blurs the line between movies and real life.

'Disclosure Day' is the biggest of these new conspiracy films, but it is far from the only one. 'Bugonia,' directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, tells the story of a belief that the world's wealthiest people are actually aliens in disguise. 'The Invite,' directed by Olivia Wilde, digs into wild rumors about a group of neighbors. An upcoming film called 'Wild Horse Nine,' starring Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich, follows two retired CIA agents who are tangled up in cold war secrets. All of these films speak the same language: distrust, fear, and the feeling that someone powerful is hiding the truth.

One of the most talked-about films is 'Backrooms,' starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as a furniture salesman who discovers a strange hidden world — a maze of corridors and office spaces that does not appear on any map. The film was reportedly directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, who first built a following by posting the idea as a web series. Some fans believe the film was actually secretly directed by its producer, Osgood Perkins — which only adds to its mysterious reputation. 'Backrooms' never fully explains its strange world, and that mystery is a big part of what makes it so gripping.

Why are so many people drawn to these kinds of stories? Polls suggest that a huge number of Americans already believe in things that are hard to prove. A 2024 survey found that 61% of Americans believe in ghosts, 57% believe in aliens, and 70% believe in the devil. Other surveys show that 18% of Americans think the 1969 moon landing was faked, and 20% think that Covid vaccines contained microchips. A 2024 study found that nearly 79% of Americans agree with at least one conspiracy theory.

Filmmaker Ari Aster taps into this world with his film 'Eddington,' set during the Covid pandemic. Joaquin Phoenix plays a small-town sheriff who runs for mayor, hates mask rules, and drives a car with a banner that reads 'YOUR BEING MANIPULATED.' The character represents a kind of conspiracy thinking that has moved from the fringe into the mainstream, fueled by social media and political movements. Aster's film pokes fun at this world, but it also shows how seriously many people take these ideas.

Experts who study film history say these movies remind them of conspiracy thrillers from the 1970s, such as 'The Parallax View' and 'Capricorn One.' Back then, those films were a form of protest — they pushed back against government lies during a time of real political scandals. Today's films feel different, however, because the world of conspiracy thinking has become much more complicated. Social media has made it easier than ever to spread unproven stories, and some political leaders have used conspiracy theories to gain power.

So what is the point of all these films? Writers and critics say that conspiracy theories, whether in movies or real life, give people a feeling of order. They turn a confusing, random world into a story with a beginning, middle, and end — with heroes, villains, and hidden truths waiting to be uncovered. That feeling is comforting, even if the story is not real. Movies understand this deeply, and filmmakers like Spielberg know that audiences will keep coming back as long as there are mysteries left to solve.