If 50 Shades of Grey gave you the creeps and/or the giggles, then you ain’t seen nothing yet.

New Zealand journalist-turned-documentary filmmaker David Farrier’s obsession with the world’s weirdest yarns led to him uncover a bizarre global reign of fear based on a very specific kink.

Taking advantage of poor muscular men, often teenagers, a shadowy figure behind a mysterious organisation called Jane O’Brien Media splashes the cash with gay abandon, convincing them to compete in dubious-sounding Competitive Endurance Tickling competitions.

Clad in tight Adidas gear, one is strapped down while others fondle or feather duster him until he submits in howls of hysterical agony.

Tickling is not for the faint of heart.

There may be no nudity, but it’s certainly whacky and risque. Unsurprisingly, it’s not a sport currently being championed at the Rio Olympics.

Farrier discovered the competition online. When his initial email contact with Jane O’Brien Media sparked a flurry of furiously homophobic responses (Farrier is gay) and the threat of legal action if he proceeded to report on a story they claimed didn’t exist, he knew he was onto something big.

He and co-director Dylan Reeve jetted to the US to see for themselves what was going on and meet with the few brave young men who were willing to risk the litigious wrath of the empire that once funded them to spill the beans on this weirdly abusive set-up.

It’s pretty clear all these guys hail from low socio-economic backgrounds and few, if any, realised just how the videos would be used.

The insane levels of aggression levelled at anyone who walks away tips this fascinating story from one of awkwardly uncomfortable comedy to something much more unsettling, a disturbing thriller of unimaginable psychological abuse and cyber-bullying.

Farrier, an unflappably charismatic figure, clearly relishes in the freaky payload he’s uncovered, but pretty soon the personal attacks ramp up with the threat of violence even more worrying than the legal muscle threatening him to submit.

Wowing audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, Tickled had its Australian opening at the Sydney Film Festival before heading to the Melbourne International Film Festival. With Stephen Fry on board as a producer, it has to be seen to be believed.

Throughout his investigation, filmmaker David Farrier becomes a target for threats, intimidation and bullying.

To say too much more would be to rob this triumphantly trippy head-messing doco of its incredibly ticklish power, but the villain of the piece, once uncovered, is one of cinema’s most memorably gross.

The fact that it’s real life just makes it even more of a must-see for those who can endure it.

Tickled opened in selected cinemas across the country on August 18. Rated MA15+.