Watch the trailer for HBO’s Tickled, a documentary about ‘competitive tickling’ that gets surprisingly dark

'This tickling wormhole was getting deeper'

When David Farrier, a reporter specialising in weird news who hosts a podcast about mythical creatures, happened upon some Youtube videos of an apparent ‘craze’ called Competitive Endurance Tickling, he thought it might make for a fun story.

When he asked for a simple interview with the company behind it however, he received a blistering, homophobic and threatening response.

“It was hard to take the insults seriously,” he explained, “considering the sport did seem slightly…gay.”

Driven to delve deeper, Farrier uncovers a bizarre world of fetish porn, manipulation, money and criminality in the documentary.

“This tickling wormhole was getting deeper,” he declares at one point in the trailer.

Tickled was such a hit at this year’s True/False documentary film festival in Missouri, that it was quickly snapped up by HBO for a TV release and Magnolia Pictures for a theatrical one.

Here’s the official synopsis:

‘After stumbling upon a bizarre “competitive endurance tickling” video online, wherein young men are paid to be tied up and tickled, reporter David Farrier reaches out to request a story from the company. But the reply he receives is shocking—the sender mocks Farrier’s sexual orientation and threatens extreme legal action should he dig any deeper. So, like any good journalist confronted by a bully, he does just the opposite and uncovers a vast empire, known for harassing and harming the lives of those who protest their involvement in these films. The more he investigates, the stranger it gets, discovering secret identities and criminal activity.

Discovering the truth becomes Farrier’s obsession, despite increasingly sinister threats. With humor and determination, Farrier and co-director Dylan Reeve summon up every resource available to get to the bottom of this tickling wormhole.’

Tickled is in cinemas 17 June.