Documentary «Mister Organ» Follows a Conman Who Torments Everyone Around Him
New Zealand journalist David Farrier's documentary «Mister Organ» grows from a car-park clamping story into a tense portrait of conman Michael Organ. It is streaming on Hoopla, Kanopy and YouTube.
The documentary «Mister Organ», made by Auckland, New Zealand journalist David Farrier, is among the more unsettling films its reviewer, Terrence O'Brien of The Verge, has seen. It is available to stream on Hoopla, Kanopy and YouTube.
From a car park to a threat
The film begins with Farrier's reporting on Bashford Antiques, a shop in Auckland's Ponsonby district that began aggressively clamping cars in its lot and demanding excessive fees, up to $760, to release them. Farrier's article for The Spinoff eventually led the government to introduce legislation outlawing extreme clamping fees.
That would normally be the end of it, but the story centres on Michael Organ. He had been hired to police the shop's lot, and Farrier found he was more than a parking-lot bully. Years earlier, Organ had been charged with attempting to steal a yacht in an elaborate scheme. He also claimed to be a prince and a lawyer, though he is neither.
A story turns into a thriller
Farrier speaks to people who have known Organ and engages with him directly. The result is a portrait of a deeply troubled man who left traumatized people in his wake. The tone turns more tense when Organ reveals he has obtained a key to Farrier's home and merely warns him to be careful.
The situation escalated further. Eventually Farrier felt he had to leave the country to protect himself from Organ's campaign of harassment and gaslighting. The reviewer describes it as a rare documentary that doubles as a psychological horror film.
