I watch a lot of documentaries. But none has left me quite as awestruck as Tickled.
Tickled is a doc that definitively proves truth is far stranger than fiction. The film began life as something of a puff piece on a niche ‘sport’ called competitive endurance tickling (heretofore referred to as CET) and gets really dark, really quickly.
The documentary began life when David Farrier, a New Zealand-based journalist, reached out to Jane O’Brien Media in an attempt to profile their involvement with CET. In response to his inquiry, David received an icy response that saw the outfit condemning his status as a gay man. Naturally, David found that reply a little peculiar, considering the very idea of CET isn’t particularly heteronormative. So, from there, David teamed up with his filmmaking partner Dylan Reeve and the pair set out to make a doc about the world of CET. After announcing the project, David began to receive daily threats of litigation and a constant stream of harassing messages from Jane O’Brien Media. And that was just the beginning. By the end of his journey, David had uncovered allegations of abuse, targeted harassment, and so much more.
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If I’m being honest, a documentary about the world of CET would be interesting enough in and of itself. But when that premise is intertwined with the shadowy business practices and clandestine dealings of the folks at Jane O’Brien Media, Tickled becomes every bit as engaging as a narrative thriller, complete with a series of unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Many of the unexpected developments that transpire throughout the course of the doc pertain to the ferocious level of secrecy observed by Jane O’Brien Media. At the onset of the film, David and Dylan contacted 100 young men that had appeared in videos produced by the company and all but one of them were afraid to speak to their experience on camera. I would be hard-pressed to call to mind any other ‘sport’ that keeps its secrets so closely guarded. But as the events of the film unfold, we come to realize that there are a number of reasons why the comings and goings of these competitive ticklers are so closely guarded.
It’s not just the details of what happens on the competitive tickling circuit that are closely guarded, however. The actual purpose of the videos is also kept under wraps. As is the identity of the individual or individuals behind Jane O’Brien Media. The more Dylan and David dig, the more adversity they are met with; additionally, the threats lodged against them become more and more menacing.
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Watching the doc induces a sense of paranoia, which is so bizarre because the subject matter is anything but ominous on the surface. However, the tactics employed by Jane O’Brien Media give the filmmakers valid cause to be weary and that transfers to the audience as we watch the story unfold.
The point at which the identity of the proprietor(s) of Jane O’Brien Media is revealed really surprised me. I had some suspicions but was still caught squarely off guard when everything was brought into focus. I will refrain from saying more than that to avoid giving too much away. But suffice it to say you won’t be disappointed.
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Seeing the curtain pulled back really is satisfying. We get to see David and Dylan hold a corporate entity, with deep pockets and a history of abuse, accountable. From the moment the film was announced, Jane O’Brien Media went out of their way to scare the filmmakers and stop the doc from ever seeing the light of day. But the filmmakers pushed forward and made every effort to bring the shady dealings of the CET circuit to light.
The filmmakers persevered through repeated threats from the folks at Jane O’Brien Media and even refused to listen when their producer told them to pack it in and call it a day. That type of tenacity is rare. But it paid dividends when the documentarians accomplished what they set out to do, Ultimately, all the money in the world and all the nasty letters and threats couldn’t stop these filmmakers from exposing the corrupt practices, bullying, and abuse perpetrated by Jane O’Brien Media.
All in, Tickled is a suspenseful and surprising affair that had me laughing out loud one moment and cringing the next. If you’re curious to check the flick out for yourself, it is streaming (as of the publication of this post) on Prime Video, Tubi, Sling, Redbox, Vudu, Pluto, and the Roku Channel.
Tags: Dark Documentaries Featured Post Featured Posts Tickled True Crime
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