Bad Milo (2014) Review

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I slipped the disk into my DVD player. I had watched the trailer that assured me it was a gross out laugh riot.

Scanning the box I saw the names Patrick Warburton (Family Guy/Seinfeld) and Peter Stormare (Fargo/Big Labowski) so I start to thinking that this might be one of these little gems. And to be fair I wasn’t wrong.

Duncan (Ken Marino) is suffering with intestinal discomfort brought on by stress. Stress at work, stress at home, stress with pretty much everything; the day to day grind isn’t doing our hero any favours.
He turns to alternative treatments for his gastric discomfort in the form of a hypnotherapist (Stormare) where they find that the pain and anxiety has manifested into what can only be described as a cute yet murderous butt-goblin.

After naming the critter Milo and trying to befriend it but series of events that trigger his stress, mostly brought on by his boss (Warburton) Milo goes on a killing spree to get revenge on the causes of Duncan’s anxieties.

I enjoyed this film, it really took me back to the days of watching such classics as the Ghoulies or Critters movies when I was a kid and for a film based on a creature living in a man’s bum it wasn’t just a string of butt-gags and childish toilet humour. There were elements of this but it was pulled off in a subtle, almost grown up way.

One thing that made this film really enjoyable for me was the use of practical monster puppets instead of CGI but I couldn’t help but wonder if the 15 certificate held it back in the gross-out stakes. (I believe it got an R rating in the states). I really feel that if they threw in a few more close up and nasty FX that it would become more of a cult film of the ilk of Bad Taste and Body Melt. I wouldn’t mind betting that there were a few juicer FX scenes left on the cutting room floor.

Overall a well-made, funny and almost family friendly tale of a man and his arse gremlin. There are some great scenes and some funny gags but again slightly lacking even with a good cast, good budget and good direction.

Sadly I feel this movie might just end up stagnating in Netflix limbo which is a shame, but I really think they missed a trick here. I hate to say it but I wanted to see more poo, more gore and maybe even a proper ‘Milo birthing’ scene… that doesn’t sound at all right, does it?

Movie Rating: 

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Trailer: