Bad Milo! Blu-ray Review
Aaron Walker
February 26th, 2014
As someone who suffers from ulcers and other general stomach pains for most of my life I have been pretty intrigued with BAD MILO! since first hearing about it on our website months ago. It is a fairly original premise… I mean, when’s the last time you saw a movie about a demon living inside someone’s colon? Not to mention the fact that the picture on the original theatrical poster is a picture of the lead male laying on a bed cuddling with the demon? Despite BAD MILO!’s independent roots, to me these two things are a comedy mint – how are these guys not printing their own money at this point? Well, the fact is the movie is much better than I thought it would be, in spite of the obviously campy premise and the endless possibilities. Instead of being just a campy guilty pleasure, BAD MILO! has a huge heart.
BAD MILO! is the story of a man on the edge. Duncan, played by Ken Marino, is an accountant who works for an investment firm where he is being asked to handle layoffs while relocating his office to a functioning men’s restroom. To top it off, Duncan has some family issues and a wife who really wants to start a family… but he has a problem dealing with his issues, resulting in ulcers and other problems. But nobody expects what they ultimately find; some kind of monster has manifested itself inside Duncan’s colon, a monster that deals violently with the things stressing out our hero before returning to his home inside Duncan’s backside.
BAD MILO! is great fun though it isn’t for the faint of heart. While not necessarily visually graphic the movie still definitely pushes the line of being tasteful (but how tasteful would you expect a movie about a colon monster?). But the reason BAD MILO! works, and is a ton of fun, is the committed performances of the stellar cast. Ken Marino (Vinnie Van Lowe from the recently resuscitated VERONICA MARS) is a perfect everyman dealing with the stressful workaday world. His wife is played with earnest by Gillian Jacobs (from television’s COMMUNITY), and their chemistry works even though it plays second fiddle to the main storyline.
Rounding out the cast of BAD MILO! are a group of terrific supporting players including Mary Kay Place (BIG LOVE) as Duncan’s mother and Peter Stormare (PAIN & GAIN and ‘the Marlboro Man’ from FARGO) as the hypnotherapist/occultist who helps Duncan deal with his situation. Other featured performers include Toby Huss as Duncan’s doctor, Patrick Warburton as Duncan’s boss, and Stephen Root as Duncan’s father. Each actor gets in some great moments even though they don’t have much screen time.
BAD MILO! is a fairly simple dark comedy on its face but lying underneath is a complex emotional drama that really hits home. This relies primarily on the authenticity of the characters despite living in this horror-movie atmosphere, which in part (at the very least) is helped by the use of an actual puppet for Milo rather than relying on CGI. The fact is you can tell when something actually inhabits the space in which it exists – on some level CGI generally just doesn’t feel REAL. But using a puppet for Milo and then surrounding that puppet with a phenomenal cast makes this a must see for anyone not turned off by the genre and subject matter. If you are even the littlest bit intrigued check it out now.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p Widescreen 1.85:1) BAD MILO! is presented in genre-appropriate slight grain but but is also beautiful in appearance.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) The audio presentation is also very nicely done for BAD MILO!, a testament to the filmmakers and their love of the subject matter.
Audio Commentary with Director/Co-writer Jacob Vaughan, Co-writer Benjamin Hayes, and actors Ken Marino and Gillian Jacobs These four people who contributed so much to BAD MILO! give a little more to the blu-ray package though it’s a fairly one-sided affair with Marino and Vaughan doing most of the talking. Wish there had been more of Jacobs and Hayes as I’m sure they were included for a reason (?).
Extended Outtakes (07:40) This is just a longer version of the outtakes presented during the credits, with some funny moments worth checking out if you enjoyed BAD MILO!.
Extended Dinner Scene (07:01) Another extended version of footage from BAD MILO! this one is one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
Deleted Scene: Veterinarian (01:20) A scene deleted from BAD MILO!, this one gives a little more backstory to Jacobs’s character.
Behind Milo: The Puppeteers! (01:33) This quick featurette shows the puppeteers behind the movements of our BAD MILO! title role.
Behind Milo: Raw Take (01:04) This feature shows the incredibly detailed process used by the filmmakers to bring Milo to life on BAD MILO!.
Interview with Ken Marino (09:49) A very interesting feature on BAD MILO!, this interview gives a lot of perspective on the process of making the film.
AXS TV: A Look at BAD MILO! (03:03) If you’ve seen anything on AXS TV, you’ll know BAD MILO! got the regular treatment with a short promo that doesn’t really add anything to the Blu-ray.
The BAD MILO! Blu-ray also features the Theatrical Trailer (02:10) and a few additional previews from other Magnolia Home Entertainment productions.
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