Mister Organ is David Farrier’s latest rabbit hole fever dream and a journalist’s best nightmare

Mister Organ. // Courtesy Drafthouse Films

David Farrier has made a career off of living out a journalist’s worst nightmare. The New Zealand reporter was the “star” of the 2016 documentary Tickled that, if you haven’t seen yet, you should stream immediately without reading another word. It’s easily one of the funniest, darkest documentaries of the decade.

Mister Organ has been out in other regions for close to a year, but it finally gets a U.S. release starting Oct. 6 on the coasts, then spreading to a full release in the States and Canada on Oct 13. In it, Farrier returns to similar foundations as his work in Tickled and his Webworm newsletter: encountering a weird story or person and then, instead of writing it up once or twice and moving on, finding himself dedicating years of his life to diving in. Farrier is perhaps second only to Rivers Cuomo in his ability to pull a thread and just walk away. And here, again, the man flies so close to the sun you worry it might consume him fully.

Mister Organ. // Courtesy Drafthouse Films

In Mister Organ, Farrier becomes fascinated by the late-night antics of a rogue tow-truck clamper in his New Zealand hometown. When Jillian Bashford, the owner of the shop this wheel clamper patrols, denies knowing him, Farrier becomes even more intrigued by the mysterious figure. The clamper is Michael Organ, and once he has a name, Farrier starts to learn more about Organ, finding he’s actually a convicted thief who once claimed to be royalty.

At this point, Farrier finds Organ has set his sights on him, too—with a branching narrative that sees Organ repeatedly dragging Farrier to court while also embedding himself in the man’s life, with something that takes the form of a sinister friendship. Alongside all this, Farrier finds self-identified “victims” from Organ’s life, and their stories paint a picture of a goon with reckless abandon, operating on the rules of his own separate reality. It’s cruel and impressive in equal measure.

Mister Organ. // Courtesy Drafthouse Films

What unfolds is a three year long investigation that hits against the uncomfortable wall of the rabbit hole obsession: what happens if there’s never an ending? And ultimately that’s what makes the documentary hit took close to home for journalists and yields some fascinating moments of reflection on the human condition. What unfolds is a difficult look at the uncontainable bleed from sociopathic behavior, but delivered on a platter alongside a hearty helping of empathy and steaming sides of both frustration and confusion. There’s also a stolen boat and one of the most chillingly minor sleight-of-hand tricks ever regulated to a journalistic enquiry.

It’s dark, weird, hilarious, and ends up leaving the audience with both the feeling like you’ve been deliberately bored into a form of submission and equally at wit’s end over the terrifying spectacle comprised of this parking lot warrior who is either the victim of the world around him or one of the most dangerous people hiding in plain sight that modern society can muster.

When this makes it to the states this month, find it. You’ll be thankful you did. Or you’ll be mad that this happened to you. Or both.