We all have our own particular outlets when it comes to stress. Some going running. Some ascribe to intoxication through drugs or alcohol. Some have a hemorrhoid demon jump out of their arse and kill people. And it’s primarily this third party that Bad Milo wants to appeal to.
Ken Marino, recently seen in Veronica Mars, plays Duncan; an overworked yes man struggling to juggle the demands of, amongst other things, a manipulative boss, his mother’s new extremely young lover and a doting but somewhat overbearing wife (Gillian Jacobs). When the causes of his stress are popped off one by one, Duncan, with the help of his psyche (Peter Stormare) discover the truth of the matter lies within him in the form of a vicious, somewhat cute, ass-demon.
Films with concepts like this often have very little mileage. Reaching the 20 minute mark (or sooner), they collapse under the weight of their own concept and perform a death rattle for the proceeding 60 minutes. Bad Milo keeps up the pace for as long as the viewer can, very rarely dropping the ball. Even when Duncan’s dinner with his mother’s new lover (Kumail Nanjiani) feels like it should be in a completely different, you’re having too much fun to really care.
Jacob Vaughn’s Bad Milo is a love letter to 80s high concept horrors. From the opening trailer music to the puppetry that makes up Milo himself, there is a distinct Joe Dante vibe to it all with a dash of all those films the kind of which would usually go straight to VHS. Yes, Duncan’s Id represented in the form of Milo is perhaps a bit too on the nose, but gosh darnit, it’s all just too much fun.
Early Bird Film Society 