‘Absolutely bizarre’ tickling documentary gets ‘more disturbing’ as it goes along

Are you a fan of being tickled?

It might seem weird to ask, but there is a whole community dedicated to testing their limits when it comes to finding new ways and new spots to induce that feeling.

Though, some of those people may have taken things too far as seen in 2016 Netflix documentary.

Throughout the course of Tickled, what started off as a tongue-in-cheek glimpse into the competitive endurance tickling community, very soon took a turn for the bizarre and even extreme danger.

But it’s no surprise that it ended up that way as it was filmed by David Farrier, a New Zealand journalist who is known for his series ‘Dark Tourist’, which is equally as creepy.

In the Tickle doc, it became an ever-increasing horrific exposé about alleged abuse that some participants were facing by their ticklers after Farrier stumbled upon a tickling competition online.

IMDB / Netflix Tickled (2016)

As the journalist delved deeper into the world of tickling, it soon became clear that something was very wrong with some participants and producers.

In the initial stages of his investigation, Farrier found himself facing homophobia and abuse from media company, Jane O’Brien Media that produced tickling competitions, which came as a complete shock to the journo.

But that was just the beginning of what was to come.

In a documentary fuelled by crime, abuse, fraud, identity theft and so much more, what was meant to be a simple look at people who like tickling, soon became sinister.

As a general rule within the fetish community, consent is of the utmost importance, so when it’s taken away and the victims are subjected to torture-like practices, where is the line drawn?

Well, the line was quite blurred in the Netflix footage, with alarming practices and blackmail being at the forefront of its process.

This might be why social media users equally lapped up this true crime doc and cringed at the utter unexpected horror that tickling could create.

IMDB / Netflix Tickled (2016)

After the video recently resurfaced, those who dared to be curious took to the platform, X, to share their thoughts on the disturbing footage.

One X user fully immersed in the documentary knew that it was their cup of tea, writing: “Watching @davidfarrier's Tickled documentary. Only 5 mins in and I can already tell this is going to be a good one.”

Another commenter added how they believed that ticklers are ‘demonic’: “Again I beg everyone to go watch the documentary Tickled on HBO. It's about competitive tickling and it shows you how demonic ticklers are.”

It turns out that creepy, true crime is exactly what people want to watch.

A user echoing previous comments wrote: “I was browsing on TikTok and I came across a documentary reco about the industry of 'competitive endurance tickling'. And I got a little curious. I know it sounds odd and quirky but the more I watched the docu, the weirder and disturbing it got.”

So, will you be taking a peek into the world of competitive tickling tonight?