It seems that every time I discuss a film that focuses around conspiracies or investigations around the ambiguities of everyday life, Thomas Pynchon’s famous quip in Bleeding Edge that “paranoia is the garlic in life’s kitchen – you can never have too much” comes into the conversation at some point. Perhaps overused, it is still quite relevant, since it captures the spirit of the feeling of neurosis and despair like few others could – and if anyone knew about the sensation of paranoia, it would be Pynchon. Someone who shares a penchant for the most absurd and deranged conspiracies is David Farrier, who has gone from a hardworking journalist who made concerted efforts throughout his career to exposing and exploring the underbelly of society, which simultaneously fascinated and terrified him. In both of his previous documentary-based efforts, Tickled (in which he ventures into the sordid heart of the world of tickle-based fetishism), and the absolutely brilliant series Dark Tourist, Farrier portrays his own fascination with the alternative and the abstract, venturing deep into the depths of a different side of humanity, showing both his fearlessness in going where few of her peers would dare tread, as well as capturing an almost indescribable sensation, something that comes through in the most intricate details of his work. One of our great modern investigative journalists, Farrier puts himself in precarious positions for the sake of informing and entertaining – and his most recent documentary may just be his most fascinating. Throughout Mister Organ, Farrier finds himself getting ensconced in the life of a mysterious man known as Michael Organ (the spelling of which deviates depending on what source you use, a fact that first piques the director’s interest), after what was supposed to be a relatively minor story, but soon turns out to be something far more intimidating and quite frankly terrifying.

One of the reasons Farrier has amassed a small but vocal group of supporters (of which I am proud to be a member) is primarily based around the fact that he chooses to pursue the stories no one else would dare explore, mainly because few of his contemporaries would even be aware of some of these subjects – and his tendency towards finding so much more complexity in these seemingly trivial subjects only makes his work richer, since we never know what we are going to find, especially in his more long-term projects. The story of Michael Organ was constructed over an investigative period that lasted, as Farrier himself mentions in the opening moments, nearly half a decade, which saw the journalist spend a large portion of his time exploring the life of this man, which includes becoming intertwined in his web of lies, which nearly causes Farrier to lose his entire grasp on reality. What makes this so fascinating is that he didn’t intend for it to get to this point – no one could have expected a story about an antiques shop owner who grows disgruntled about residents of the New Zealand town in which she resides parking in front of her store, leading her to hire a mysterious figure to clamp the wheels of anyone who dares park there after hours, who also happens to be her best friend and closest confidante, the titular “Mr Organ”, a man who seemingly lived several lives. For most people, this story itself would have been interesting enough, a trivial and amusing anecdote that doesn’t require too much further thought – but then it starts to become more complex when we discover who is actually behind these events, which is what makes Mister Organ so gripping and enticing, especially since Farrier has very little reluctance in plunging himself (and the entire audience by proxy) into this peculiar and vaguely nightmarish version of the world, one that is driven by paranoia and anxiety, which immediately makes for quite a bizarre but captivating journey.

There are two broad categories of documentary – there are those that tell you everything you need to know from the start, and then there are those that tell you absolutely nothing. Farrier’s interests seem to have always resided with the latter, not because he relishes in being intentionally obtuse, but rather he picks up on subjects that are marginally fascinating, and voyages deep into their core, not knowing what he is going to encounter in the process. This is primarily why he is one of the more intrepid journalists we have working today, since he has often put himself in peril for the sake of investigating a story, which is certainly his own choice (he has been adamant about his fierce independence as a journalist), but which has allowed him to tackle some of the more fascinating cases that none of us may have even realized existed, and probably would not have been aware had he not drawn our attention to these stories. The subject matter of Mister Organ is not entirely clear at the start, and describing this film in a quick one-sentence synopsis is nearly impossible without going into heavy detail – it isn’t even a situation where we try to avoid giving too much away, but rather that we simply cannot condense this wild and sprawling story into a single coherent string of thoughts, since it isn’t designed to be anything other than a series of dread-filled, paranoid moments that compound on one another, falling apart piece-by-piece until all we are left with is a terrifying and unsettling portrait of a sinister figure who embodies the kind of terrifying power that ordinary citizen should not ever wield, particularly the psychological hold he has over those who cross his path. The impact of Mister Organ comes in watching it all unfold, which Farrier smartly portrays as a dramatic series of events that take us entirely by surprise, which is all part of the brilliance that underpins this film.

If there is one quality that has single-handedly driven Farrier’s entire career, it would be curiosity, which is always an admirable concept, particularly for those within the realm of non-fiction filmmaking or storytelling. His work is propelled by a dedication to exploring the subjects that interest him, and he is strong enough (as both a writer and director) to make the audience just as engrossed in these stories as he was when researching and investigating them. It is this reason alone that makes it seem like Farrier would be a relatively poor choice for fiction filmmaking, since his best work always revolves around the absurdity of real subjects, proving that reality is far stranger than fiction. He does allow his incessant curiosity to get the better of him, as Mister Organ is the latest in a string of projects where Farrier spirals out of control as a result of getting far too deep into a subject, to the point where he begins to wonder whether it was actually worth stoking the fires on a story that quite simply didn’t need to be provoked. The answer is a resounding affirmative – the story of Michael Organ is not essential enough to have been brought to our attention as a whole, but we are appreciative of the fact that this story was told, because it exposes something much deeper within our society, with Organ himself being a representative of a very distinct kind of individual, those who have an unhealthy combination of power and malice, which they use to manipulate those around them. He is a sinister figure, someone who seems so normal, but who possesses a wrath that can be quite disconcerting, even as viewers entirely detached from the subject. The most disturbing aspect is that the film itself heavily features Organ himself – midway through, this mysterious figure enters into Farrier’s orbit, and the entire second half of the film is based not around discovering who he is, but rather trying to get out of his web of lies, which is something that many documentaries on such subjects often neglect. Farrier allows the subject to speak for himself, which is quite a rare occurrence, but something that he uses extremely well (especially since the main antagonist of Tickled was far more elusive), especially in how his presence in the film adds an abundance of complexity to an already challenging story.

Based on all of these components that went into its creation, it is not a surprise that Mister Organ is one of the most unsettling and profoundly dark documentaries of recent years, despite its lighthearted tone – this is a film about power dynamics, and the experience of seeing how the relationship between the main players in this story, which includes Farrier (who simply cannot avoid becoming involved in the narrative himself, something that some of his predecessors in journalism and documentary filmmaking may find somewhat tacky) is what makes the film so fascinating, as well as deeply disturbing. His journey with the material is quite fascinating, and we have to give Farrier credit for being able to demonstrate such bravery in leaping into the unknown, especially since he is dealing with someone who is definitely a dangerous figure, and who manages to manipulate anyone into doing his bidding. It feels like Farrier is the prey, caught in a web of lies and deception, while Organ, who takes on the part of the predator that gradually inches closer to Farrier as he attempts to escape, makes it very clear that he is the one in control. Even by the end of the film, we don’t have any resolution – Organ is a malicious figure who has enough power to have impacted countless lives, and even when the film struggles to provide answers to many of these questions (which are essentially bound to remain ambiguous as long as Organ is around), there is something so compelling about how it handles this story. Dark, blisteringly funny and deeply unsettling, Mister Organ is an exceptionally fascinating film, and all the proof we need to Farrier’s excellence as both a journalist and documentary filmmaker – his fearlessness and willingness to navigate the bleeding edge of his own sanity for the sake of finding answers is admirable, and proves how he is someone truly committed to his career, which has been built on a foundation of finding answers to the questions no one asked, and yet making them seem like such pressing issues. This film asks a simple question: Who is Michael Organ? However, the answer is far less easy to discern, with the reality being that, even after half a decade of in-depth research, not even Farrier can provide us with a definitive conclusion, meaning that we will likely never know – but in the end, do we really want to have that answer anyway?