ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Perry writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel, The Good, the Bad and the Verdict and Diabolique Magazine; for the film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum; and for the pop culture websites When It Was Cool and Uphill Both Ways. He is also one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast and can occasionally be heard as a cohost on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast.
Official synopsis:False flags. Forbidden archeology. Chemtrails. Nefarious extraterrestrials. Fake pandemics. What’s it like to live down these rabbit holes? Gimme Truth follows truth-seekers and ex-believers into the gravitational pull of conspiracy culture, exploring what draws them in and if there’s a way out. Beyond the stereotypes, we find a movement longing for meaning in chaotic times, and the damage done when the search for truth becomes identity.
Review: There was a time, not so long ago, when reliable clues led up to a conspiracy theory being proven rather than just the current onslaught of “I believe this, so I’ll make up ‘facts’ that support my theory,” or worse, “I believe this, period.” It was a time when people could read books such as 1994’s The Fifty Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: History’s Biggest Mysteries, Coverups, and Cabals by Jonathan Vankin and John Whalen between episodes of The X-Files instead of believing every video and site on the internet that supports their belief system while shutting out those that take differing views.
But here we are in 2026.
Codirectors Brad Abrahams and Simon Ennis take a look at current conspiracy theories and believers in their documentary Gimme Truth. The filmmakers allow interviewees to discuss their belief systems and let viewers decide where they stand.
Interview subjects range from a man kicked out of a new age conference’s booth floor because his take on dangerous extraterrestrials clashed with the “positive vibes only” philosophy of the sponsors to a man who believes that all mountains are the remnants of buildings from ancient advanced societies, to a woman who was deep into QAnon before a certain event completely changed her way of thinking . . . and there is much more.
Writer Jon Ronson (Them: Adventures with Extremists; The Men Who Stare at Goats) checks in with his thoughts and theories on why and how conspiracy theories are so prevalent today. He provides commentary between the different conspiracy theorists.
Abrahams and Ennis refrain from judging their interview subjects, letting them discuss their beliefs and also focusing on the different personal reasons and backgrounds that can lead people toward extreme belief systems. Gimme Truth is an intriguing watch as it examines, to paraphrase Ronson, the differences between “the truth” and “my truth.”
Gimme Truth screened as part of Fantastic Fest, which ran September 17-24, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
