‘Bad Milo’ Movie Review

Directed by Jacob Vaughan

Written by Benjamin Hayes & Jacob Vaughan

Starring: Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Patrick Warburton, Toby Huss, and Nick Jaine

A horror comedy centered on a guy who learns that his unusual stomach problems are being caused by a demon living in his intestines.

First of all, as a fan of horror and comedy, I promise you this review is 100% free of poop related puns. It’s the little things.

Duncan (Marino) and Sarah (Jacobs) are a typical family dealing with typical things. Duncan has a questionable relationship with his dad, and despite having an attractive wife, Duncan is yet to conceive with her. Either issue would give a normal man plenty of stress. When his job starts tanking, things become too much to take and Duncan learns his lifetime of IBS is caused by more than poor dietary choices and stress. He finally agrees to see the doctor and learns his has a polyp. Easy fix, right? Enter Milo. Yeah, just so we’re clear what’s being reviewed here, a cute/demonic monster pops out of Duncan’s butt and into our hearts. And by hearts, I mean pools of blood and feces. Aw, he has your brown eyes.

I know I just broke my pun rule. Get your own site and stick your ostensible standards.

Bad Milo boasts a strong cast, solid direction, and technical merit; I paid for the rental knowing full well it was about a cuddly demon that lives in Marino’s butt. Not even than dissuaded me. It’s a lofty goal to shoot for cult status in horror films, but Bad Milo never gets remotely close. Instead, Bad Milo ends up being a tale of father/son struggles and infertility. Of course, it’s mixed in with toilet humor, blood-spraying violence, workplace crime, bizarre expressionism, and a sense of family. It’s as weird as it sounds.

Ultimately, I might have enjoyed this film if not for its complete unwillingness to commit to a genre. The film shifts gears rather sloppily through relationships, utter ridiculousness, bone rending violence, and life lessons, proving more is often time too much.

Bad Milo, you’re cute and idiotic in a good way, but almost impossible to watch. You made me bored with the beautiful and talented Gillian Jacobs, and maybe worst of all, you turned Marino into a bumbling nice guy. Unforgivable.