Mads Mikkelsen reunites with Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller in Dust Bunny, a fantasy-horror fairytale about the monster under a little girl’s bed.
Aurora (Sophie Sloan) can’t get her parents to believe her when she says there’s a dangerous monster under her bed. When tragedy strikes, Aurora takes it upon herself to solve the problem. A dust bunny may not sound like a nefarious creature, but Aurora knows better.
Aurora’s solution comes in the form of a mysterious neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) known only as the Resident. After Aurora witnesses him take down a fantastical creature, she’s sure he’s the man for the job. Surely an assassin who’s defeated one creature can defeat a malevolent dust bunny, right?
The Resident, like all other adults in Aurora’s world, does not believe in the existence of the creature terrorizing her bedroom and destroying her life. But a job is a job, and like any good reluctant father figure in a genre film, the Resident takes Aurora under his wing.
A stylized creature feature.
Photo Credit: Lionsgate
Writer-director Bryan Fuller, the visionary behind the candy-colored procedural Pushing Daisies, is a longtime fan of Amelie. Its visual influence here is as strong—or perhaps even stronger—as it is in his previous work. Aurora and the Resident live in a colorfully whimsical New York with Art Nouveau architecture and bursts of color. It’s an immersive experience utilized by someone who has clearly spent years imagining a new look for the world we live in.
Where the film falters is its screenplay. Fuller, so often a writer of witticisms (see Hannibal for evidence), keeps the first half hour largely dialogue-free. Aurora has little to distinguish herself from other precocious children of cinema until the film relinquishes its silence. Her spunkiness manifests as the silent half hour concludes, between a church money-collection heist and her use of the phrase “procure your services” when hiring the Resident (she has a word-a-day calendar, she explains). The film began as a concept for Fuller’s Amazing Stories, and it shows. The film has a charming monster-of-the-week vibe, but also feels like an hour of material stretched to 100 minutes.
A monstrously imaginative film.
Photo Credit: Lionsgate
As with any good creature feature, there is indeed a creature to behold. It should be no spoiler that Sophie is right about there being a monster under her bed. The monster’s design looks like a Jim Henson character, and deployed to fun effect. It’s one of the film’s strongest, most-realized elements and the star of a delightful action sequence.
Shades of Leon: The Professional and The Mandalorian feel evident here; Mikkelsen is a worthy, unflinching stand-in for Jean Reno and Pedro Pascal. The Resident and his handler (a stylish and steely Sigourney Weaver) exchange barbs that suggest a version of the film that is wordier and wittier. Mikkelsen and Weaver are at least fun to watch, even if their vaguely-drawn relationship to one another is too vague to feel invested in them.
The bottom line.
While Dust Bunny has its flaws, it’s encouraging to see a wholly original film that has its influences while trying to forge its own. Its R rating, for violence, bars it from being family fare, but perhaps it will find the right imaginative, uninhibited child (or adult) one day. In an era increasingly driven by IP fodder, it’s nice to see a film that dreams big.
Dust Bunny is now playing in select theaters. Watch the trailer here.
Images courtesy of Lionsgate. Read more articles by Claire Di Maio here.
REVIEW RATING
-
Dust Bunny - 7/10
7/10
Claire was once asked in elementary school why her go-to question was always, “Watch anything good lately?” It’s still her go-to question, because she loves hearing what other people are passionate about. She often sacrifices sleep in the hopes that she will one day clear her to-watch and to-read lists (a futile effort so far).
No Comments