Mister Organ is one of the most unsettling documentaries I’ve ever seen
Mister Organ doesn't reach the level of societal horror of The Act of Killing or the creepypasta-meets-true-crime gruesomeness of Beware the Slenderman, but there's something deeply unsettling about Michael Organ and his intimate campaign of terror against everyone who enters his life. Mister Organ is a documentary by David Farrier, an Auckland, New Zealand journalist. The movie starts with Farrier reporting on…
Key points
- David Farrier's documentary Mister Organ began as a report on a Ponsonby antiques shop charging clamping fees up to $760.
- Farrier found that Michael Organ, hired to police the shop's lot, had been charged over a yacht theft scheme and falsely claimed to be a prince and a lawyer.
- Organ obtained a key to Farrier's home, and Farrier eventually left New Zealand to escape the harassment.
Mister Organ is a documentary by David Farrier, an Auckland, New Zealand journalist. It begins with his reporting on Bashford Antiques, a shop in Ponsonby that aggressively clamped cars in its lot and demanded fees of up to $760 to release them. Farrier's article for The Spinoff led the government to introduce legislation outlawing extreme clamping fees.
At the center of the story is Michael Organ, the man hired to police the shop's lot. Farrier's investigation found Organ was more than a parking-lot bully: years earlier he had been charged with attempting to steal a yacht in an elaborate scheme, and he claimed to be a prince and a lawyer, though he is neither.
A trail of traumatized people
As Farrier speaks with people who have known Organ and deals with him directly, the film builds a portrait of a deeply troubled man who has left traumatized people behind him. The documentary shifts from a portrait of a conman to something more alarming when Organ reveals he has a key to Farrier's home and warns him to be careful.
It’s the rare documentary that doubles as a psychological horror film.
— The Verge
Farrier leaves the country
The film spirals further from there. Farrier eventually felt it necessary to leave the country to protect himself from Organ's campaign of harassment and gaslighting. Mister Organ is available to stream on Hoopla, Kanopy, and YouTube.
