ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Perry writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel and Diabolique Magazine; for the film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum; and for the pop culture websites When It Was Cool and Uphill Both Ways. He is also one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast and can occasionally be heard as a cohost on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast.

A battle of wills, a cat-and-mouse game, a potentially dangerous deep dive into the inner workings of a revenge-minded miscreant — New Zealand journalist/filmmaker David Farrier’s latest documentary Mister Organ is all of this and much more.

Farrier catches wind of a highly suspicious parking boot operation at an antiques store, where the film’s titular centerpiece, Michael Organ, is demanding exorbitant amounts of cash for people to get their cars back. Matters escalate from there as Farrier initially exposes Organ’s racket and then makes the mistake many people — several of them interviewed for this film — have made: getting involved with Organ, who seemingly leaves a great deal of emotionally and psychologically damaged acquaintances in his wake. Former roommates, judges, and even his own family members want nothing to do with him, and Farrier learns why — the hard way. 

Mister Organ is a fascinating look at a person who takes anyone who crosses him to task, be it in a courtroom, with veiled threats, and sometimes worse. Farrier has crafted a gripping cautionary piece about the perils of trying to play one upmanship with someone highly skilled at the activity.

Mister Organ screened as part of Boston Underground Film Festival, which took place from March 22–26, 2023.