MovieChat Forums > The Greasy Strangler (2016) Discussion > "Greasy" was a double entendre

"Greasy" was a double entendre

posted 8 years ago by franklindf
2 replies | jump to latest

It may seem obvious, but I only to put this together after seeing the film - the villain had a penchant for grease of course, but there was a second meaning: A reference to the disco era and the film "Grease" with John Travolta. I think the film specifically mentions John Travolta as a subtle hint to establish this connection. A third meaning is that the Dad was greaseball, or greasy character i.e. the slang word for douchebag. So the joke here is they took the literal meaning of grease and applied it to the horror villain, but they also use two figurative meanings, so the title of the film works on three levels.

[–] musicbymartin 8 years ago

I agree grease is a metaphor but I took it to signify the things in life which social norms tell us we shouldn't do but which some people feel compelled to do anyway - taboos in other words.

And Grease the movie isn't really disco - it's rock and roll nostalgia with a pop sound track. Nothing like the Earth, the Wind and the Fire.

[–] ilsamarx (42) 8 years ago

I thought they whole phrase Greasy Strangler had a lot of different meanings from the sexual aspect, family aspect of strangling the life out of each other, Greasy as in slippery to each other, the other reasons that you had mentioned except Grease the movie, etc.. there are a ton of ways to take the title. John Travolta was mentioned because he was huge in disco because of Saturday Night Fever.