MK ULTRA is a 2021 American psychological thriller directed by Colin Bates and starring Justin Theroux, Julia Garner, and Melissa George. The film explores the true story of the CIA's unethical MK ULTRA drug experiments, which involved testing LSD and other mind-altering substances on unwitting civilians in an effort to develop new methods of mind control.
The protagonist of the film, Ford Strauss (played by Justin Theroux), is a brilliant psychiatrist who is recruited by the CIA to run a subsect of the MK ULTRA program in a rural Mississippi mental hospital. With limited resources and a mandate to push the boundaries of medical ethics, Strauss is forced to navigate a treacherous landscape of government bureaucracy, corrupt officials, and dangerous patients in his quest to unlock the secrets of the human mind.
As the experiments progress, Strauss finds himself increasingly conflicted between his scientific curiosity and his growing moral objections to the program's methods. As he struggles to reconcile his professional obligations with his conscience, he begins to spiral into a dark and dangerous world of paranoia, hallucination, and psychological trauma.
As tensions rise and the program edges closer to collapse, Strauss must confront the devastating consequences of his actions and decide whether to continue down a path of scientific discovery at any cost. Ultimately, the film asks probing questions about the limits of medical experimentation and the dangerous intersection between science, power, and morality.