TICKLED (David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, New Zealand). 92 minutes. Rating: NNNN
The premise of Tickled is like a clickbait story come to life: “This New Zealand Journalist Wanted To Know More About Competitive Endurance Tickling. What Happened Next Will Shock You!”
The thing is, it’s not an exaggeration. As Tickled documents, David Farrier’s inquiries into an ad seeking models for tickling videos led him down a rabbit hole of lies, threats and intimidation, all tied to a pathology that becomes more fascinating and more disturbing the further he and co-director Dylan Reeve dig.
If there’s a stranger movie playing Hot Docs – or anywhere, really – I haven’t seen it. Try to go in cold.
