Mister Organ is one of the most unsettling documentaries I’ve ever seen

is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.

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 Bashford Antiques, a shop in Ponsonby that has begun aggressively clamping cars in its lot and demanding exorbitant fees to release them — up to $760. Farrier’s article for The Spinoff eventually led the government to introduce legislation that would outlaw extreme clamping fees.

Under normal circumstances, that would be the end of the story. But at the center of this story is a man named Michael Organ who turns out to be a bizarre, seemingly dangerous conman.

Organ was hired to police Bashford’s lot, and during his investigation, Farrier discovers he’s more than just a parking-lot bully. Years earlier, Organ had been charged with attempting to steal a yacht in an elaborate scheme. What’s more, he claimed to be a prince and a lawyer — he is neither.

As Farrier talks to people who have known Organ and interacts with him directly, what emerges is a portrait of a deeply troubled man who has left a trail of traumatized people in his wake. The movie shifts from a wild portrait of a conman to something more alarming and tense when Organ reveals he’s gotten his hands on a key to Farrier’s home and only warns him to be careful.

From there it spirals even further; eventually, Farrier felt it necessary to leave the country to protect himself from Organ’s campaign of harassment and gaslighting. It’s the rare documentary that doubles as a psychological horror film.

Mister Organ is available to stream on Hoopla, Kanopy, and YouTube.

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