Today I had the pleasure of watching one of the most depraved and bizarre films that I have ever seen, a horrific black comedy by the name of The Greasy Strangler. Jim Hosking's bizarre little film stirred up quite a reaction at Sundance earlier this year, some praising it's off-the-wall tone while others branded it sheer filth. In a way, The Greasy Strangler is sheer filth, but I mean that in the most positive way possible. It's crude, it's vile and it's downright outlandish, but..well there is not but, this is one disgusting film. However, its distinctive style, colourful (to say the least) characters and sheer strangeness will definitely gain this film the cult fanbase it deserves.
The film involves the father/son duo of Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels) and Big Brayden (Sky Elobar), who run a 'disco walking tour' of LA. However, the two soon clash after meeting a young woman (Elizabeth De Razzo), and Ronnie is discovered to be the notorious greasy strangler. That's not a spoiler by the way, Ronnie reveals this within the films first scene. Many have dubbed this film as being depraved and disgusting, believe those reviews because this film is both of those things and much more. Farts, penises and a whole lot of grease, the film has a pretty vile sense of humour that could be considered by many to be low brow. It doesn't hold back when it comes to being crude, Ronnie has his unnaturally large shlong out for most of the film and during that time he's generally out strangling people while smothered in grease, this image alone is enough to make even seasoned horror fans gag. But it doesn't solely rely on gross-out humour, a lot of the laughs come from the characters and the bizarre dialogue they spout out. The dialogue may not seem funny on paper and the acting isn't exactly top class, but somehow the two manage to compliment one another and the result is sheer comedic gold. One of the best examples of this involves and Indian man and his questionable pronunciation of 'potato'. Elobar in particular manages to conjure up the most laughs with every line of rambling dialogue and uncomfortable silence his character has to offer. It's like a more crude Napoleon Dynamite.
While Elobar is wonderful as the painfully awkward Brayden, he's not alone in this ensemble of freaks and weirdos. The real star of the show is Michael St. Michaels as the brilliantly vile Ronnie, while his son Brayden is shy and kind, Ronnie is nasty, loud, and has little respect for anyone around him. He provides most of the gross-out humour by exposing himself and delivering some of the most repulsive dialogue ever. He and Brayden are polar opposites yet they share a unique love/hate relationship that develops surprisingly nicely as the film progresses. It's actually quite compelling at times and it does work despite the context. Of course the conflict between Ronnie and Brayden arises due to the arrival of the seductive Janet who draws attention from the both. While De Razzo's performance is a lot more natural and genuine than her co-stars', her character is still just as depraved as the rest and she takes part in some of the most uncomfortable sex scenes in cinematic history with both Ronnie and Brayden. One of these involves, you guessed it, grease. It's a film packed full of distinctive minor characters who still manage to leave an impact despite their limited screentime. There's the aforementioned Indian man and his pronunciation issues, Brayden's friend Oinker (Joe David Walters) who always wears a fake pig nose, and a hot dog vendor whose performance is reminiscent of Mark Whalberg's in The Happening. Every character is distinctive and memorable, no matter how big or small.
While the film is dubbed a horror, it's more just disgusting than scary. There is some violence but it's mainly done in a slapstick, cartoony manner, eyeballs popping from heads and such. I had expected more blood and guts but that was certainly compensated for with the excessive gross-out humour. All of the death scenes are played for laughs and there is little suspense involved, I mean to be fair there isn't really anything scary about a greasy strangler, just disgusting. One of its good qualities is that the film never feels like it's trying too hard to be disgusting, which is surprising considering how revolting it really is, somehow all of the depravity comes naturally. It's a visually striking film, not only due to the framing and direction, but also because of the zany costumes and colour schemes. Brayden and Ronnie have these pink outfits that they wear while doing the disco tours and they're honestly some of the strangest pieces of clothing I've ever seen in a film. However, the one thing that really makes this film stand out is its bizarre soundtrack by Andrew Hung, it reminded me a bit of the score from Utopia only on crack. It will be stuck in your head for weeks after watching the film. The film certainly has a consistently unconventional tone and aesthetic which I feel is one of its strongest points.
Ok, so obviously this isn't a film for everybody, it's relentlessly vulgar and lacks any real limits or boundaries. It will shock and offend even some of the more experienced cinemagoers so be prepared when going into this, it's certainly not for people with weak stomachs. But if you can stomach some of the films most disgusting moments you will be able to look past all of the vulgarity and appreciate it for it's visuals, its style and its soundtrack. It's like if Lloyd Kaufman directed Napoleon Dynamite and had David Lynch revise the script. My only main criticism is the ending that just seemed quite pointless, but then again the whole film is pretty pointless, in an enjoyable way however. The Greasy Strangler is very much a niche film, it won't appeal to most but those who it will appeal to will love and appreciate it for what it is. If you're the type of person with a strong stomach and a broad sense of humour who thrives on the strange and the bizarre then this is the film for you, if not then I'd stay clear if I were you.
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