DUST BUNNY Review: This Generation’s Gateway Horror Classic Is Here
Bryan Fuller’s TV work has been so cinematic that it’s surprising to note that Dust Bunny is his feature writing/directing debut. The tone of dark subject matter handled with a whimsical sense of humor is unmistakably his, though—even given that it stars Mads Mikkelsen, his collaborator on Hannibal, which was definitely more horrific than whimsical.
In Dust Bunny, Fuller deftly tells a child’s story in grown-up terms and comes up with a movie that can be enjoyed by adults and older kids alike. Its protagonist is eight-year-old Aurora (Sophie Sloan), who lives in an unnamed city visually inspired by equal parts New York, London, and Shanghai. She thinks there’s a monster dwelling under her bedroom floorboards, and from the opening scene, we know she’s right: a literal, living, evil dust bunny has grown into something big and hungry.
What to do about this creature when her parents won’t initially believe her—and then become convinced of its existence the hard way? Aurora believes salvation lies with Mikkelsen’s Intriguing Neighbor (as he’s billed) down the hall, whom she follows into Chinatown late one night. There, he demonstrates the killing skills of a trained assassin, though from her limited point of view (and her fertile imagination), Aurora believes she’s seen him slay a dragon, and thus decides that he can rid her of the beast under her bed.
This striking setpiece is part of an opening act that impressively sets up the characters, their environment and the situation with a minimum of dialogue. It also establishes the finely honed balance of harsh reality and stylized fantasy in Dust Bunny, which plays like a bedtime story with real stakes. The basic premise suggests Léon: The Professional with a monster, as the world-weary hitman gradually bonds with the young girl who needs his help, though its details and design are very much its own. The production design by Jeremy Reed (Gretel & Hansel) is a visual treat, drenched in varied colors and illustrative elements (Aurora sleeps under a blanket covered with eye graphics, to name just one), well-caught by cinematographer Nicole Hirsch Whitaker. Kudos to the props team, too—love the Neighbor’s chicken lamp, and the utilitarian shoes worn by his handler, played fiercely by Sigourney Weaver.
Both of them believe that Aurora’s parents were killed by rival assassins who were actually after the Neighbor, and soon more hitpeople, including two very entertainingly played by David Dastmalchian and Rebecca Henderson, make the scene. Even as the action becomes more outrageous, with shooting and gobbling by the title creature, the heart of Dust Bunny remains the interplay between Mikkelsen and Sloan—the veteran of steely tough-guy/bad-guy roles complemented by the perfectly unsentimental turn by the young newcomer. Talking matter-of-factly about the monster and other horrible stuff, Sloan is able to play wise beyond her years while maintaining Aurora’s vulnerability, while Mikkelsen lets us feel the Neighbor’s growing protectiveness toward her without breaking his cool and collected character.
And then there’s the dust bunny itself, a ferocious creation of the visual effects team headed up by Craig Lyn. At first suggested by rippling, cracking floorboards (nice work by the sound team too), it eventually makes its ravenous presence very much known, and what sounds at first like a comical idea for a screen creature ends up being pretty scary at certain moments. That’s emblematic of Dust Bunny as a whole: Despite the light touches Fuller brings throughout the movie, it takes the threats surrounding Aurora seriously. In that sense, it’s reminiscent of ’80s films like Gremlins and The Monster Squad that combined kid-friendliness with a true sense of jeopardy, done with a very modern and hip sensibility. It may be rated R (more for brief human-on-human violence than anything involving the monster), but any child old enough to want to see it should be able to handle it just fine.
Check out the Dust Bunny trailer here.
