New Zealand’s journalist-of-the-weird David Farrier sets off to do a quick story about a fringe sport known as “competitive endurance tickling.” But his innocent queries are first met with escalating threats, and then with a visit from edgy American attorneys. To a journalist like Farrier, this is the waving of the red cape. More bemused than intimidated, Farrier and co-director Dylan Reeve head to the U.S. to try and meet the shadowy figures behind the sport, only to find themselves immersed in a twisty tale of obsession, exploitation, sex, blackmail and psychosis. Mixing Raymond Chandler with Michael Moore, the edge-of-seat Tickled is a sharp detective tale that attempts to sweep away the cobwebs from one of the endless, bizarre corners of the Internet. (JS)