10 Movie Conspiracy Theories You Won't Believe Exist

Since conspiracy theories seem to follow Stanley Kubrick around like a bad smell it’s probably not surprising that that his final film Eyes Wide Shut has a bunch of nutjob theories attached to it too. It doesn’t help that the boring, Tom Cruise fronted erotic thriller revolves around a secret society that likes to indulge in ritualistic orgies or that Kubrick popped his clogs just days after screening his final cut of the film for distributors Warner Brothers.

One side of the conspiracy camp posits that Eyes Wide Shut is an anti-Illuminati expose replete with nods to the all-powerful secret society like eight point stars, creepy masks and, um, rainbows. You might remember the Illuminati from their recent various endeavours which include inserting all-seeing eyes into music videos, cloning celebrities like Miley Cyrus and general being in control of the whole world. The flipside of that argument claims that at some point Kubrick went over to the dark side and the movie is actually pro-Illuminati propaganda, apparently evidenced by the director’s whitewashing and normalisation of its satanic orgies as edgy swingers’ parties that the upper middle class indulge in to alleviate their boredom.

A third theory suggests that Eyes Wide Shut is a warning against the Church of Scientology. Not only does the film centre on a shady, rich and elite cult not too dissimilar from the Church, it also starred Tom Cruise, one of the ‘religion’s’ most prominent advocators. The Kubrick-Scientology connection doesn’t end there either: Kubrick’s daughter Vivian joined the Church around the time that Eyes Wide Shut was being made.

Whatever the conspiracy theorist’s particular persuasion, there’s a few things they all generally agree on. Firstly, that the film was vigorously re-edited before its release by Warner Brothers and its anti-cult messages toned down in the interests of either the Illuminati or Church of Scientology. Secondly, that Kubrick didn’t die because of a massive heart attack but was actually murdered by cultist hitmen.