Errol Morris has done it again.
Three months ago, we brought you the teaser for Errol Morris’ new documentary, Wormwood.
Having whetted our appetites for another myth-busting documentary drama, Netflix have released a longer trailer for the six-part series and it doesn’t disappoint.
From the man who brought you The Fog of War and The Thin Blue Line, Wormwood tells the true but untold story of the death of Frank Olsen, an army scientist whose research group were doing some very shady work with the CIA.
He died mysteriously, falling from a New York hotel room in November 1953. The CIA called it a suicide, but as the documentary uncovers, that was the cover story. Wormwood delves deeper into what the CIA was really doing at the time and the revelations are shocking.
It explores the CIA’s attempts to control people’s minds with LSD as part of a secret project, codenamed ‘MK Ultra’.
CIA director Richard Helms made sure all records of the project were destroyed in 1973 – before any investigations into the agency’s shady activities had commenced. It’s technically the stuff of conspiracy theory, but the cover-up story is more than a bit fishy and that’s what Morris uncovers in the series through reenactments and interviews with Olsen’s family members.
Combining genres, Wormwood is a dramatised series telling a true story. We’ve seen other documentaries blend these genres before, with the likes of Making a Murderer. This trailer suggests Morris’ series will be even more compelling.
Wormwood is set for release on Netflix on December 15.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
