Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
This October I decided to watch and review some of those great horror movies (31 to be exact) that I missed on their initial release. And for Part 23 of my series of the 31 OF THE BEST HORROR MOVIES YOU (MAY HAVE) MISSED we will be checking out weird creature horror Bad Milo. Let’s get to it:
Day 23 of 31: Bad Milo (2013)
Director: Jacob Vaughan
Starring: Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Patrick Warburton
IMDb Trivia: Milo’s eye blinks were the only thing done digitally.
Plot: A man learns that his unusual stomach pains are being caused by a demon living in his intestines.
Review: A demon that comes out of your butt. I get the feeling the writers of Bad Milo (originally titled Bad Milo!) came up with this one after a particularly harsh night of battling the results of eating some bad seafood. All kidding aside, Bad Milo is a fun throwback to weird creature films like Basket Case or Gremlins. And even with its ridiculous premise it is surprisingly well-executed, well-acted and, most importantly, funny from start to finish.
Ken Marino is an actor I don’t see much of but he’s always a delight to watch when he does. I loved his sleazy investigator character in Veronica Mars and his dim-witted, should-never-have-gotten-the-job police captain in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Here he plays an accountant with a demanding girlfriend, a stressful job and a demanding boss (Patrick Warburton), all of which exacerbates his stress which in turn triggers his intestinal issues. After a visit to his psychiatrist Ken finds out the reason for his stomach pain is less bad tacos and more a rectum-dwelling demon who he names “Milo”.
I loved the design for Milo and appreciated that old school practical effects were utilised instead of going the lazy route of using CGI. Milo looks like a mix between ET, the baby from Dinosaurs and poop (to be fair, ET always looked a bit like poop with legs to me). And we quickly realise Milo is kind to those who bring stress to Ken’s world and poor Ken can’t destroy Milo without hurting himself. So what’s a guy to do but form a bond with his butt demon?
Surprisingly this movie, while played for laughs of course, is a lot more understated than you would expect. Ken’s character Duncan isn’t so much pathetic as he’s just an ordinary guy living a life a lot of people could relate to. Gillian Jacobs (Community), who plays his girlfriend Sarah, isn’t bitchy or mean, she just wants to start a family with Duncan. That’s not to say we don’t have opportunities for Milo to do his thing and the bloody kills are fun and satisfying to behold.
I won’t say Bad Milo is a scary movie; like most horror comedies it’s more about the humour and the over-the-top premise than making you jump out of your skin. But the cast does a great job of playing it straight and the humour is smarter than you would expect (they avoid the obvious butt jokes). And the adorably evil Milo, who goes from cute to crazy when it comes to protecting Duncan, has a great design and the kills bring just the right amount of blood and gore. Hey, if movies about a monster who lives in a basket or a fuzzball who gets wet and multiplies into chaos causing creatures can exist, why not one about a loveable demon that lives in someone’s ass?
Sommer’s Score: 6 out of 10
You can check out Part 22 of my 31 Days List and supernatural revenge flick Avenged below together with my look at Andrea Ricca’s Sci Fi/Horror shorts (lots of creatures there).
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
Double Tap Baby!
There are some real brutal kills in this movie and it’s all so cute cause milo is such a cool little guy. I love this movie.
Glad you enjoyed it