Documentaries come in all forms and primarily cover topics like wars, famous people, or major historical events. However, others dive into subjects you probably know very little about. Some of these things are so strange they sound unreal. We’re talking competitive tickling, siblings separated at birth, and a man befriending an octopus. All of these odd subjects make for fascinating documentaries. These movies prove that sometimes the strangest stories are the ones that are most watchable.
1. Tickled (2016)
Tickled begins with journalist David Farrier discovering the existence of competitive endurance tickling. He watches videos of young men tied down and tickled on camera, which is supposedly part of an unusual athletic competition. When Farrier reaches out to the company producing the videos, he gets surprisingly aggressive responses. His interest piqued, he decides to investigate. What starts out as an odd documentary about a quirky competition turns into something heavier, involving harassment, lies, and control. The documentary gets much darker than its innocent title indicates.
2. Finders Keepers (2015)
Finders Keepers is essentially one big argument over a human leg. After John Wood loses his leg in a plane crash, the actual amputated limb somehow ends up inside an old barbecue smoker. When the cooking equipment is sold at auction, the leg goes right along with it. The man who buys the smoker, Shannon Whisnant, thinks that keeping the leg might make him famous. Meanwhile, the original owner of the leg understandably wants his appendage back. It’s a problem few of us will ever face in real life. Whisnant puts up a fight, arguing that he legally bought the limb along with the smoker. Their bizarre conflict gets national attention and becomes an emotional story about two very different men.
3. Three Identical Strangers (2018)
In 1980, 19-year-old Bobby Shafran had a very odd first day of college when strangers seemed to know him and call him by a different name. He discovers that another student, Eddy Galland, looks exactly like him. As in, identical. The two boys meet and realize they must be identical twins who were separated at birth. The outrageous story gets even stranger when a third look-alike surfaces: another identical brother, David Kellman. The almost impossible story of the three long-lost triplets became national news. But once they started asking questions about why they had been separated, the tale turns dark. The unsettling investigation uncovers a less-than-ethical psychological study.
4. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
A documentary about people competing for the world record in Donkey Kong doesn’t sound like it would have much of an audience, but this is one compelling documentary. When Steve Wiebe tries to break the high score, he introduces viewers to the surprisingly intense world of competitive gaming. Ongoing conflicts rage over everything from scores and videotapes to arcade machines and who deserves recognition as the world’s best player. The obsessive men involved make the competition feel like life and death. It is certainly not approached like a lighthearted game. By the end, it feels like a genuine long-standing rivalry.
5. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
Filmmaker Craig Foster is feeling stuck in life, so he starts diving every morning in a South African kelp forest. There, he meets a wild common octopus. Instead of simply observing her once, Foster begins seeing her repeatedly. Fascinated by her, his daily dives begin revolving around the octopus. He watches her hunt, hide from predators, solve problems, cope with threats, and even play. It documents one man’s truly special relationship with an octopus. It’s a detailed look at this remarkable, intelligent animal most people never come into contact with. The most important friendships can be found in unlikely places.
6. Chicken People (2016)
Some people raise chickens for eggs; others raise them for meat. Maybe some keep the birds as pets. But very few raise them for beauty competitions. This documentary follows breeders preparing their birds for the National Poultry Show. Because chickens are judged according to extremely specific standards, competitors obsess over feathers, body shape, colors, and subtle imperfections. The people involved treat the competition as serious business, and the documentary isn’t making fun of them, but simply opening mainstream audiences to this odd world. By the end, audiences start to understand why someone might become invested in creating the perfect chicken.
7. The Pez Outlaw (2022)
Steve Glew was an ordinary Michigan machine operator who found an unusual way to make money: bringing rare Pez dispensers to the United States. He went to Eastern Europe, bought rare and weird dispensers, and sold them to American collectors for huge profits. However, his newfound career put him in conflict with Pez’s American division. It turns a candy dispenser hobby into something like an international smuggling story. The documentary approaches the material with a sense of humor, showing recreations and carrying a playful tone. But all the drama around the tiny plastic candy containers was very real.
8. The Final Member (2012)
Iceland is home to the Icelandic Phallological Museum, a place devoted almost entirely to animal penises. Its collection includes preserved specimens from whales, seals, bears, and numerous other species. However, for many years it was missing one important entry: a human specimen. The Final Member documents the museum’s founder Sigurður Hjartarson as he looks for a man willing to become the collection’s human donor. To everyone’s surprise, several men want the oddball honor, and a competition ensues. The story is funny, bizarre, and, not surprisingly, uncomfortable. This one would be difficult to believe if it weren’t documented on camera.