''Conspiracy'' is a 2008 American

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by Adam Marcus and stars

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

and

Jennifer Esposito Jennifer Esposito is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the feature films ''Summer of Sam'' (1999), ''Don't Say a Word'' (2001), ''Welcome to Collinwood'' (2002), as well as ''Crash'' and ''Taxi'' (both 2004). She has also appea ...

. The film is influenced by the classic western

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

thriller ''

Bad Day at Black Rock ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' is a 1955 American neo-Western film directed by John Sturges with screenplay by Millard Kaufman. It stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan with support from Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernes ...

'' (1955), which itself was an adaptation of a short story "Bad Time at Honda" by

Howard Breslin Howard Mary Breslin (23 December 1912 – 30 May 1964) was an American novelist and radio script writer. He mainly wrote novels of historical fiction and is most notable for ''The Tamarack Tree'' and "Bad Time at Honda", a short story that was ...

. The film was released on

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in the United States on March 18, 2008. Whilst ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' tells the story of wounded World War II vet John J. MacReedy, ''Conspiracy'' revolves around William "Spooky" MacPherson, a disabled special operations marine wounded during combat operations in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. When MacPherson decides to visit a friend on a ranch in the southwest, he discovers that his friend has disappeared, and no one will acknowledge that he ever lived there. The film was shot in

Galisteo, New Mexico Galisteo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 253 at the 2010 census. Geography Galisteo is located at (35.395 ...

in 30 days from April 19 to May 19, 2007.

Cast

as MacPherson *

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the T ...

as Rhodes *

as Joanna * Jay Jablonski as Deputy Foster *

Greg Serano Greg Serano (born August 7, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role of Pablo Betart on ''Wildfire (2005 TV series), Wildfire'' and as Enrique Salvatore in ''Legally Blonde''. He played a role in ''Power (TV series), Power'' as A ...

as Miguel Silva * Stacy Marie Warden as Carly * Christopher Gehrman as E. B. * Bob Rumnock as Sheriff Bock * Jude B. Lanston as Sergeant

Reception

The movie received overwhelmingly negative reviews.

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...

wrote, "It's beyond dreadful. It's jaw-droppingly bad."Flixster
. Retrieved 25-11-2010.

References

External links

Official website
* * 2008 films 2008 direct-to-video films 2008 action thriller films American action thriller films Direct-to-video action films Films directed by Adam Marcus Films shot in New Mexico Iraq War films Sony Pictures direct-to-video films Stage 6 Films films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-action-film-stub