I’m sad to report that I was one of three people in the movie theater when seeing Dust Bunny. This is one of the most original films I have seen in a while, one that harks back to the absurdly enjoyable 80s family genre movies. Think something like Gremlins meets Leon: The Professional, but even then, this movie has much more fun in creating a completely unseen world of magic, monsters, and mayhem.
Before I praise this movie high and low, here’s the rundown: a young girl, played by Sophie Sloan, believes her parents have been eaten by the monster under her bed. She then tries to hire her neighbor, Mads Mikkelsen, a grizzled hitman, to kill the monster. Simple? Yes. Absurd? Absolutely. Effective? Indeed, one hundred and ten percent.
A world like no other
This film is utterly and painstakingly beautiful. Every costume, every set, and every single shot holds something so vividly vibrant ithat t makes the entire thing a delight to watch. The coloration and attention to detail are unlike anything I’ve seen in a long time, and each new location or character introduced is done so with style for days.
Bryan Fuller wrote and directed the film, and it’s clear that this is his exact vision. Creator of TV series’ Pushing Daisies’ and Hannibal, it’s no surprise his first directorial feature film debut is such a beautiful thing to behold. Clearly, his imagination knows no bounds, as it oozes off the screen in an equally explosive and quirky manner.
Fuller has so much fun taking us through his twisted world in this spooky yet heartfelt tale, and there’s not a single boring moment in the whole story. Set design and costuming are perfect, yes. But the sound design, from the hair-raising and ethereal score to the perfectly cartoonish sound effects, contributes greatly to the overall otherworldly quality of this world. That’s not to mention the acting on display…
Less is more
The cast here is minimal. You have Sophie Sloan, Mads Mikkelsen, and Sigourney Weaver leading the charge. And honestly? That’s all you need. There are also some great supporting performances from Sheila Atim and the always menacing David Dastmalchian. But the main three players deliver some pretty perfect performances.
Child acting, as it goes, can be inconsistent. After all, acting is hard, and to ask a young child with little life experience to inhabit a fictional character is a lot. But not for Sophie Sloan, she absolutely nailed it! Playing a scared yet tough-as-nails young orphan, she is a great match for the veteran actors she’s paired with.
And what else is there to say about either Mads Mikkelsen or Sigourney Weaver at this point? These two have proved over the years, from Alien and Casino Royale, to Avatar and Another Round, that they are both national treasures.
Legends in action
Mikkelsen has worked with Fuller before on Hannibal, and you can tell by his playful performance just how much fun he is having. Fun is the name of the game in this film, after all, and Fuller’s script shines with so much humor and heart, it’s not hard to believe that either of these long-time actors was easily convinced to join the project.
At 76 years old, Sigourney Weaver looks fantastic, and she is having an absolute blast playing Mikkelsen’s villainous boss, who’s name is never mentioned once. The same can be said for Mikkelsen’s mysterious neighbor character, giving a healthy dose of mystery to this already genre-packed fever dream of a “family film.
Genre-bending at its finest
The best kinds of films do not limit themself to simply one genre. At this point, with so many movies being made every year, what’s the point? Fuller fully understands this, as this is one of the craziest and most inventive genre-bending films that has come out in the past decade.
There are fantasy elements for sure, which also lend themselves to being a horror movie, through the eyes of a young girl who believes in monsters. The hitman and creature aspects give it some amazing action set pieces, and the whole absurd premise makes it a very funny comedy. But at the end of the day, it is truly a family film.
Poor Aurora has lost her parents to the monster under her bed. Mads Mikkelsen is a lonely, isolated hitman with seemingly no friends or family outside of his cynical boss, Sigourney Weaver. The bond that forms between Aurora and her neighbor is adorable, to say the least, and by the end of the film, you will find your heartstrings being tugged on at one point or another. It’s a surprisingly feel-good film, all around.
Exciting and original, yet criminally underseen
This film made approximately $345,000 at the box office this past weekend. You know what movies made tens of millions of dollars this weekend? Zootopia 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s Two, and Wicked: For Good. Now, I haven’t seen these movies, and I’m not saying they’re bad. It’s just sad that original movies such as Dust Bunny don’t receive the love that sequels do. Frigging sequels.
Hollywood loves sequels, and why? Because they’re pretty much guaranteed to make a profit. I mean, heck, if it worked the first time, why not just do it again! And while you’re at it, add some new famous name to it for a wider appeal! It makes me sick.
Sequels are an endless cycle, you see, making audiences content with a certain kind of story, over and over and over again. Bryan Fuller is out here bringing a completely original story to the movie theaters. Is it weird, wacky, and obscure? Definitely, but he took a chance, and for this movie lover, it paid off in spades.
Take a chance on Dust Bunny
As a filmmaker myself, I gotta say, it’s reassuring to see movies as absurd and outlandish as this one getting greenlit- but that’s only half the battle. Unfortunately, most people are more concerned with seeing overdone stories and characters doing the same thing, again and again. Call it “Marvel syndrome” or something like that.
I’ll hop off my soapbox for now, but let it be known that Dust Bunny is a film well worth seeing at the movie theaters. I only wish the place had been packed, as it is a highly thrilling and subtly hilarious film that deserves to be seen with a crowd.
See Dust Bunny in theaters now, while you still can!
