Starring Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs
Directed by Jacob Vaughan
I have a monster up my ass! This is the furthest thing from a metaphor! bellows Duncan (Ken Marino), this horror-comedys understandably exasperated protagonist as his therapist (Peter Stormare) tries to ascribe greater significance to his unenviable predicament.
Indeed, while its clear that director Jacob Vaughan harbours some modest allegorical aspirations the said trooper in (Duncans) pooper is seemingly a manifestation of his insecurity concerning impending fatherhood (making this a cheeky scatological riff on Rosemarys Baby) this grotesque romp hinges entirely on the high-concept premise of a pint-sized id monster taking up residence in some poor saps colon and occasionally bursting out to wreck havoc on those whove wronged its host.
Fortunately for fans of comic gore, Duncans acute gastrointestinal issues are but one aspect of this repressed office drones constant emasculation, resulting in frequent opportunities for Milo as the creature is dubbed to quench his bloodlust (including laying waste to one tormentors bathing suit area in a scene youll never be able to unsee).
While never quite living up to promise of its Evil Dead-indebted kinetic opening or providing sufficient material for supporting players Patrick Warburton and Gillian Jacobs, Bad Milo! nevertheless proves both funnier and more involving than it has any right to be. Despite resembling an off-brand E.T. toy with a lampreys maw, Milo is disarmingly endearing, certain to inspire nostalgia in viewers who were raised on the charming practical effects and puppetry that graced the likes of Gremlins. For a certain subset of moviegoers, eviscerations will rarely be this heart-warming. Curtis Woloschuk
Opens at the Rio on Saturday, Dec. 7
