Dust Bunny, 2025.
Written and Directed by Bryan Fuller.
Starring Sophie Sloan, Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian, Rebecca Henderson, Sheila Atim and Nóra Trokán.
SYNOPSIS:
An eight-year-old girl asks her scheming neighbor for help in killing the monster under her bed that she thinks ate her family.
Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller and star Mads Mikkelsen have reunited for the former’s directorial debut Dust Bunny, an entertaining and fun light horror film complete with snappy dialogue, a great ensemble and creative action sequences between various assassins and the titular monster.
Mikkelsen is neighbours with a young girl named Aurora, played by Sophie Sloan in her feature debut. After she witnesses him dispatching a number of assassins, she tries hiring him to kill the monster under her bed that has followed her from home to home. Believing there’s more to the story than a simple child’s nightmare, he investigates her background even as his handler, played by the legendary Sigourney Weaver, advises him not to whole other assassins close in, but the truth is far more sinister than he believes.
The best element of Dust Bunny is the chemistry between Mikkelsen and Sloane. Their back-and-forth banter highlights Fuller’s witty script as Sloane endears us to Aurora while slightly annoying Mikkelsen’s assassin. Their relationship though doesn’t follow the usual trope of a tough assassin who hates children who reluctantly comes to care for her as there is a natural sense of protection he feels toward her, even if he finds her claims of a monster and the running gag around her name tiresome. Sloane is quite impressive in her debut, conveying Aurora’s wit, fear and determination very well and holds her own when sharing the screen with Mikkelsen and Weaver.
Mikkelsen himself puts a lot of nuance into his unnamed assassin through his scenes with Sloane, Weaver and others. He utilizes a lot of dry humour in his delivery and body language. Weaver doesn’t have a whole lot of screentime, but when she appears she makes every second count with her equally dry wit and sarcastic regard to most of Mikkelsen’s problems. The rest of the ensemble, which includes David Dastmalchian, Sheila Atim and Rebecca Henderson, provide nice performances balanced by the drama and humour in the crazy situation they find themselves in.
As for the creature itself, who Fuller named Dusty, the film finds inventive ways to utilize it throughout the film including a clever handicap that makes its scenes more entertaining. The mix of CGI and puppetry gives a nice blend of authenticity to the monster while harkening back to 1980s films like Gremlins and Labyrinth. While there are not huge scares or blood and gore as typically found in monster movies, the light horror aspect of the story again calls back to that age of horror films for a younger audience without dumbing it down for the older crowd. Its a well-maintained balance Fuller captures complete with his stylized cinematography. If nothing else, Dust Bunny is a very vibrant film to look at with its lighting and set design.
For his debut feature, Fuller succeeds in creating a horror film to be watched for young and old alike as well as for horror and non-horror fans. Mikkelsen and Sloane make a compelling team while Dusty, Weaver and the rest of the cast provide their own memorable moments throughout the film.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
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