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Bad Milo!
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Magnolia Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (21st January 2014). |
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The Film
 There are times when the film has finished and the credits are rolling and you're sitting there, quiet, perplexed at what it was you just watched. Unsure whether it was pure genius or trash cinema... well "Bad Milo!" provides that exact experience. Some ideas are so crazy, so over-the-top ridiculous you begin to wonder how on earth did the filmmakers come up with it, then realize it as a screenplay and then get actors to agree to be in it, let alone finance it - then get a distributor to pick it up? If you haven't seen "Bad Milo!" yet then you're probably thinking I'm over-exaggerating... trust me, I'm not. But, let's be clear, I'm not saying this film is bad, far from it, it's that the concept is so crazy I applaud the filmmakers for being able to get it made and released. "Bad Milo!" tells the story of Duncan (Ken Marino) a run-of-the-mill guy suffering from stress. He works in an office and has a pushy boss. One day he starts feeling pain in his stomach, which his doctor says is a polyp, an abnormal growth of tissue in his anus. The doctor simply tells him to avoid stress, which is difficult considering his boss, Phil (Patrick Warburton) gives him a new job in human resources to handle a series of layoffs. This new job takes a toll on Duncan, and the polyp develops into a little demon which leaves his body through his butt and then wreaks havoc on his life and his wife (Gillian Jacobs). Yes, you read all of that correctly, a demon creature comes out of Duncan's ass. This film is about a butt monster. A butt monster named Milo that goes out and kills people. All the people that are killed, in some way, represent people that are making Duncan's life a misery. His hypnotherapist (Peter Stormare) helps provide some answers, he's like the Yoda of butt monsters, offering guidance to Duncan and letting him in on what the creature is - a physical manifestation of his dark side and in order to reign it in, Duncan must bond with it. What results is equally grotesque and darkly funny. I love they way the filmmakers constantly throw things at Duncan to stress him out, starting with his job and moving his office to a bathroom, getting paired up with a useless partner at work that messes things up and when things can't get worse he goes to dinner with his mother (Mary Kay Place) and her much younger lover (Kumail Nanjiani), a situation that makes Duncan uncomfortable but it get worse, as his mother invites a fertility doctor to dinner in what has to be one of the most awkward and stressful scenes in the film. Marino's reactions are the cherry on top of these scenes. The casting is spot on, everyone here does a terrific job, from the likeable leads in Ken Marino and Gillian Jacobs, Patrick Warburton (who I wish had more to do in the film), Peter Stormare and Stephen Root - in a splendid cameo as Duncan's marijuana medicating zen absentee father. Everyone here provides memorable turns as these characters and they all play it straight. At no point in this film do any of the actors break that construct, no matter now ridiculous the premise or set-up. "Bad Milo!" reminds me of 80's horror/comedies complete with a score that features many tips of the hat to Danny Elfman. If you're a fan of films like "An American Werewolf in London" (1981), "Gremlins" (1984), "Critters" (1986) or "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986) then this film will fit right in.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1 widescreen mastered in high definition 1080p 24/fps and using AVC MPEG-4 codec. This image is nice and crisp, shot using the RED epic camera, this digital image is nicely detailed and bright. The colors are well rendered and saturated, skin tones appear natural and black levels are appropriately dark and show little to no noise. The film's photography isn't anything to throw awards at (daylight scenes are mostly flat) but the image is clean and detailed with night scenes providing the most shape. Overall it's a good transfer for a low budget horror comedy.
Audio
A single English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is featured and mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The audio is excellent, with clean and clear dialogue, surrounds are put to good use with environmental and directional effect. This offers depth and range to the audio. The film's score comes across well and adds further range to the mix. It's not an entirely complex sound mix but it suits the film perfectly. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Magnolia/Magnet has released this film with a decent collection of supplements that include an audio commentary, extended outtakes, an extended scene, a deleted scene, three featurettes, an interview, the film's original theatrical trailer, a series of bonus trailers plus the disc is authored with a bookmarks feature and BD-Live access. Below is a closer look at these extras. A feature length screen-specific audio commentary with co-writer/director Jacob Vaughan, co-writer Benjamin Hayes and actors Ken Marino and Gillian Jacobs is the first extra on this disc. There's not a lot of production trivia here, mostly these commentators joke around and enjoy watching the movie. They is constant banter and it's actually pretty enjoyable to listen to. It's a lively track that shows off how much fun they made making the film and on working with each other. There are extended outtakes (1080p) which run for 7 minutes 40 seconds, as the title suggests these are outtakes, some of which appeared in the end credits of the film. Some of these are terrific watching the actors improvise lines. Next up is an extended dinner scene (1080p) which runs for 7 minutes 1 second, this is a longer version of the awkward dinner scene with Duncan's mother and her younger lover. Easily one of the funniest scenes in the film and here we get an extended version of that scene. A single delete scene (1080p) is included and entitled "Veterinarian" which runs for 1 minute 20 seconds. In this omitted scene, Duncan visits Sarah at her work, the vet's office and walks in on her as she's helping an animal give birth. "Behind Milo: The Puppeteers!" (1080p) is a short featurette which runs for 1 minute 33 seconds, and is b-roll footage of the puppeteers in action on set during the filming of a scene in Highsmith's hypnotherapy practice. "Behind Milo: Raw Take" (1080p) is another short featurette which runs for 1 minute 4 seconds, this is a raw take from both the "A" and "B" cameras perspectives featuring Milo jumping up on a coffee table. Following that is an interview with Ken Marino (1080i) which runs for 9 minutes 49 seconds. In this clip Marino comments on what the film is about, on his character and the character's journey, on the monster, on what attracted him to the film among other things. Next up is "AXS TV: A Look at Bad Milo!" (1080i), a featurette that runs for 3 minutes 3 seconds, this is a short EPK promotional clip for the film, created for the marketing campaign, it covers the basics of the production and nothing more. The film's original theatrical trailer (1080p) is also included and runs for 2 minutes 10 seconds. There are a collection of bonus trailers (1080p) for: - "The Last Days on Mars" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "How I Live Now" which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds. - "Mr. Nobody" which runs for 2 minutes 5 seconds. - "Best Man Down" which runs for 2 minutes 20 seconds. - "AXS TV" promo which runs for 31 seconds. The disc is authored with a bookmarks feature and also BD-Live access.
Overall
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