Watch Errol Morris' WORMWOOD Trailer

Like so many auteurs working on projects that are considered 'niche' -- basically anything not in Tights or in a franchise, these days -- Errol Morris has gone over to the streaming services (in this case, Netflix) with his current project. Wormwood is a documentary heavy with actor recreations; coincidentally, this is the medium that Morris practically invented with 1988's The Thin Blue Line, which saw the subsequent death-row convict released from prison.

The six-part series looks at the U.S.A. government and CIA behavior in the MK-ULTRA programs and the effect it has had on one man, Eric Olson, whose father, Frank, a CIA contractor, died under mysterious circumstances. The CIA dosed Frank with LSD in 1953, a mere nine days prior to his 'suicide.'

Morris uses interviews and stock footage combined with polished re-enactments; these star Molly Parker, Tim Blake Nelson and Peter Sarsgaard, among others. It screened in September in Venice to rave reviews, resulting in a fair number of pull quotes in the trailer below.

Wormwood debuts, in its full six-hour binge-watch glory, on Netflix on December 15. The trailer is below.

Footnote:  Morris has won the Documentary Feature Academy Award in the past for his documentary work on the USA government (The Fog of War). This series was deemed recently to be ineligible for Oscar consideration due to the Academy ruling, after OJ: Made in America, that changed the criteria for qualification of the Best Documentary Feature.