MK Ultra (film)

MK Ultra is a 2022 American psychological thriller film written and directed by ex-intelligence officer Joseph Sorrentino.[1][2] Based on a true story about the human experimentation program MKUltra conducted by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the 1960s, the film follows Dr. Ford Strauss (Anson Mount), a psychiatrist who gets involved in a government experiment and conspiracy involving the use of psychedelic and other mind-controlling substances. It was released theatrically and on video on demand on October 7, 2022.

MK Ultra
Official release poster
Directed byJoseph Sorrentino
Written byJoseph Sorrentino
Produced by
  • Lee Broda
  • Brian Mercer
  • Andreas Schilling
  • Joseph Sorrentino
  • Jerry Tankersley
  • Seth Willenson
Starring
CinematographyDiego Romero
Edited byCristóbal Fernández
Music byTony Neiman
Production
companies
  • LB Entertainment
  • Ten Past Nine Productions
Distributed by
Release date
  • October 7, 2022 (2022-10-07)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Premise

In the early 1960s, during the CIA's secret and illegal human experimentation program MK-Ultra,[lower-alpha 1] Dr. Ford Strauss (Anson Mount), a psychiatrist, is attempting to get medical LSD testings approved; his moral and scientific boundaries are pushed to the limit, as he is approached by CIA agent Galvin Morgan (Jason Patric) to run a subsect of the program in a rural Mississippi psychiatric hospital. As he conducts the experiments on a drug addict, an arsonist, a transgender woman, and an animal killer, Dr. Strauss begins to question Agent Morgan’s ethics and disentangles an incomprehensible conspiracy.[3][4][5][6]

Cast
  • Anson Mount as Ford Strauss
  • Jaime Ray Newman as Rose Strauss
  • Jason Patric as Galvin Morgan
  • Alon Aboutboul as Townsend
  • Jen Richards as Laura Stanley
  • David Jensen as Dr. Miller
  • Wanetah Walmsley as Nurse Irwin
  • Jared Bankens as Gunther
  • Harrison Stone as Brian Mercer
  • Matt Nolan as Dwyer
  • Charles Green as Kevin Mercer
  • Susan McPhail as Peggy
  • Cotton Yancey as Senator Mathis
  • Bill Luckett as Senator Mathis
  • Robert Aberdeen as The German
  • Jill Renner as Shelly
  • Josh Whites as Dallas Shepard
  • Ted Ford as Confused guard
  • Dalton Russell as Mental Patient
  • Tony Key as Desmond
  • Greg Dees as FBI Agent
  • Cameron Abel as Father Jerry Schilling

Production

Formerly titled Midnight Climax,[7][8] MK Ultra is the third feature film directed by Joseph Sorrentino,[1] who previously comes from an Intelligence Operations background.[2] He wrote the film based on a true story about the illegal human experimentation program Project MK-Ultra,[9][10] conducted by Central Intelligence Agency in the 1960s.[11][12] The film is produced by LB Entertainment and Ten Past Nine Productions with Suzy Bergner, Tom Rooker and Sigurjon Sighvatsson as executive producers.[11]

Release

The official trailer has been released on August 31, 2022.[13] The film was released theatrically, and on video on demand on October 7, 2022[7] in the United States through Cinedigm,[11] and worldwide through Bleiberg Entertainment.[14]

See also

Notes
  1. "MK" was an arbitrary symbol for the CIA's Technical Services Division. See CIA cryptonym#Format of cryptonyms and CIA cryptonym#Digraphs.

References
  1. Samara, Nadir (October 7, 2022). "MK Ultra Review: Joseph Sorrentino's CIA Thriller Is Detailed & Effective". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. Lovitt, Maggie (August 30, 2022). "'MK Ultra' Trailer Ensnares Anson Mount in a Dangerous Government Program [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  3. MK Ultra at an AMC Theatre near you., AMC Theatres, October 6, 2022, retrieved October 10, 2022
  4. "MK Ultra". Houston Press. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  5. Jackson, Gordon; Whitbrook, James (October 6, 2022). "Todd McFarlane's Spawn Movie Finally Has Some New Writers". Gizmodo. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  6. Alejandro Marquez, Miguel (October 5, 2022). "MK ULTRA is a sober look into the Psychedelic Age". Moviejawn. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  7. P, Maddie (October 7, 2022). "How to Watch 'MK Ultra'". Collider. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. "MK Ultra (2022) - FilmAffinity". FilmAffinity. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  9. "Chapter 3: Supreme Court Dissents Invoke the Nuremberg Code: CIA and DOD Human Subjects Research Scandals". Archived from the original on March 31, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  10. "U.S. Senate Report on CIA MKULTRA Behavioral Modification Program 1977". publicintelligence.net – Public Intelligence. July 27, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  11. Grobar, Matt (May 9, 2022). "Cinedigm Acquires CIA Thriller 'MK Ultra' Starring Anson Mount, Jaime Ray Newman And Jason Patric". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  12. Katre, Ajay (June 7, 2022). "Is "MK Ultra (2022)" Based On A True Story?". MarvelousVideos.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  13. "TRAILER - MK Ultra (2022)". Mubi. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  14. "MK Ultra". The Film Catalogue. American Film Market. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
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