BAD MILO!

It’s ironic isn’t it? You pick a film that begins with BAD in its title, and it tends to be a good film. BAD LIEUTENANT, BAD TIMING, BAD EDUCATION, BAD TASTE, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, BAD SANTA … even BAD BIOLOGY, while not great, is worth a look – if only because it happens to be a Frank Hennenlotter film.

Speaking of whom, BAD MILO! (that’s the filmmakers’ exclamation mark there, not mine) sounds very much like a Hennenlotter film on paper …

It tells of Duncan (Ken Marino), a mild-mannered chap whose agreeable demeanour dictates that he’s taken advantage of at work. His boss Phil (Patrick Warburton) is a cad who bullies Duncan into firing colleagues (even though, as the company’s accountant, it’s not really in his remit to do so) and later steals from his employees’ pension funds.

Duncan has stress outside of the office too: pretty wife Sarah (Gillian Jacobs) is desperate to start a family with him. So much so that his mother (Mary Kay Place) enlists the services of an intrusive fertility doctor (Steve Zissis) to help bolster things along.

This is the same mother who has just started seeing younger beau Bobbi (Kumail Nanjiani), who thinks nothing of boasting to Duncan over the dinner table about the adventurous love life he enjoys with Mom.

No wonder, then, that when Duncan visits his doctor with a suspected polyp in his stomach, he’s told the growth results from his being overly stressed.

A concerned Sarah soon puts Duncan in touch with eccentric psychiatrist Highsmith (Peter Stormare). During a hypnosis session, Duncan’s growth reveals itself to Highsmith – a toothed creature by the name of Milo that lives inside its host’s rectum.

Highsmith is quick to liken the beast to ancient mythology and suggest that it’s a manifestation of Duncan’s own repressed anxieties. Keep calm under stressful situations, he reasons, and Duncan should be able to control the murderous monster.

But that’s easier said than done, especially when you have as much on your plate as Duncan does. And I haven’t even mentioned the issues he has with absent father Roger (Stephen Root) …

BAD MILO! is first and foremost a comedy. What’s great in this regard is that its script is actually a lot funnier than its one-joke premise may suggest. Yes, there’s a monster living inside a man’s arse. Yes, there is some inevitable toilet humour present as a result (the scene where Milo shakes shit off himself, thus spraying a hapless Duncan with it, is a gross-out highlight). But there’s more to Benjamin Hayes and Jacob Vaughan’s screenplay.

It plays with notions of family, societal placing, social etiquette and love in surprisingly delicate manner, while proffering a host of characters who may be quirky but always, in the end, stand by each other. They’re easy to like as a result – yes, even Marino, with his Ray Romano affectation - as is this smart film.

Vaughan also directs, and finds a fine balance between humour and gory horror akin to Stuart Gordon on a good day. The Hennenlotter references are obvious – when Duncan begins to form a bond with Milo, snuggling beside him on the settee to watch trash TV, you can’t help but think of BASKET CASE or BRAIN DAMAGE. But there are also nods to ERASERHEAD (the parental fears; the stop-motion creature) and THE BROOD (Milo as a manifestation of Duncan’s frustrations).

Though never scary, the film does captivate thanks to a taut pace and a constant "where is this going?" vibe. While the denouement may not be entirely satisfactory, it does at least tie-in with the film’s friendly tone.

So friendly, in fact, that the BBFC have passed this with a 15 rating, despite a rather graphic spot of penis-munching midway through proceedings …

BAD MILO! looks superb on Sony’s region 2 DVD. Pin-sharp, detailed, colourful and bright, this is a great presentation all round. The film is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1, respecting its original aspect ratio.

English audio comes in a 5.1 mix, which is excellent. An English stereo Audio Descriptive track is also included for the sight-impaired. We also get 5.1 audio mixes in Spanish, French, German and Italian.

A variety of optional subtitles are on hand too, including English for the Hearing Impaired.

The disc opens to a static main menu page. From there, a static scene selection menu allows access to the film via 16 chapters.

Extras are limited to 16 minutes of non-consequential outtakes, along with extended/alternate takes. The outtakes feel like overkill, seeing as though the end credits see out the film with a selection of bloopers too.

It’s a shame we don’t get the trailer, featurettes or audio commentary track that are on Magnolia’s US blu-ray release.

BAD MILO! is great fun. It’s well made, superbly acted and unexpectedly warm and its core. It looks fabulous on Sony’s DVD, but is undersold in the extras department.

Oh, just thought of a film with BAD in its title that’s actually bad … BAD MEAT. And another, BAD GRANDPA. And another … Okay, scratch that opening paragraph …

Review by Stuart Willis