I don't recall at what point in Tickled the narration of New Zealand reporter David Farrier stops being cloying and starts to resemble the soothing tones of Werner Herzog. That’s probably because the film—which starts as a documentary about the silly, innocuous sport of "competitive endurance tickling"—gets very dark very quickly. As Tickled grows more sinister, Farrier’s calm, accented voice becomes a comforting presence, one that helps make sense out of a story that gets stranger by the minute—a guide, if you will, through the wilderness of tickling terror.
As Tickled begins, co-director Farrier introduces himself as an offbeat reporter who’s found his next “wacky” story—a video of young men in Adidas gear stoically eliciting giggles from an unlucky but ebullient athlete on a wrestling mat. But when Farrier reaches out to Jane O’Brien Media—the creators of the video—he’s hit with crass emails, threatened with lawsuits, and told, in no uncertain terms, to stop digging. When Farrier deadpans, “This tickling wormhole was getting deeper,” it’s hard to tell if he’s joking.
But as the film progresses, it becomes clear that tickling videos are (sorry) no laughing matter. By the end of the film, Farrier’s revelation that “This tickling empire is way bigger than we ever imagined” might chill your soul.