January 27, 2026
FILM: DUST BUNNY
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: BRYAN FULLER
STARRING: MADS MIKKELSEN, SOPHIE SLOAN, SIGOURNEY WEAVER
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Those of you that regularly read my reviews know that I rarely cover fantasies or thrillers. It’s not that I have anything against them but there are plenty of critics who enjoy spending their time with those films more than I do. My own niche is in international, documentary, and independent film. Dust Bunny though came to me as a nominee for two Independent Spirit Awards this year. Because I’m a voting member and ballots are almost due, I thought it was my duty to check this one out. Plus, it stars Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver so how bad could it be? Well, surprise, this is one helluva film experience that is wildly unpredictable and so well-crafted that I can’t figure out how it possibly became eligible for a Spirit Award, which requires a budget less than $30 million. (The reported budget was $12 million, which is completely surprising.) There’s no question that the budget was stretched as far as it could go to make a stunning visual achievement.
The premise surrounds a young girl named Aurora who believes there is a monster under her bed ready to eat her and anyone else that walks on her floor. During an early scene, Aurora creeps out of bed at night to follow her mysterious neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) as he begins fighting what appear to be dragons outside with the help of swords and his general heroic abilities. So, what begins as a young girl’s issue turns into something much bigger – at least on the surface. The early scenes are from the perspective of Aurora and conventional wisdom would suggest that this is part of a dream she is having. It is too fantastical! However, later the film switches its perspective to that of the neighbor (he is not given a name but is referred to in the credits as “Intriguing Neighbor.”) He has conversations with a woman named Laverne, played by Sigourney Weaver, which makes it clear: this is not just a story inside a young girl’s head. There’s more going on here.
It is this twisted, unpredictable plot that adds intrigue to a film that may look like something not more than a special effects show. There’s some real depth of character being developed here, particularly with Aurora. She’s far from the typical scared little girl that needs protection. She’s quite resourceful, not cutesy, and darkly comical. She is more than up to the challenge of working with Intriguing Neighbor, whom she hires to kill the monster. She gets the money “to procure his services” (she learns a new word a day) by stealing it from a church service during a musical number set to The Lord’s Prayer – the pop hit interpretation of the famous prayer by Sister Janet Mead which was a Top 40 hit when I was a kid. (I even had the 45… I never thought I’d hear it again!)
Suffice to say, the plot and action get more intense with the monster becoming more dangerous, Aurora’s parents going missing, and the FBI getting involved. Writer/Director Bryan Fuller’s script offers some thematic elements that also add some depth to the film. At one-point, Intriguing Neighbor suggests that monsters are in fact men. They can be evil and often must be fought. Sometimes the good are defeated and sometimes they come out on top as the most powerful.
However, the real treat here is the visual world Fuller has created. The sets look like something out of a Wes Anderson film, filled with colorful, symmetrical elements. The production design is outstanding to behold. Everything from the stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows to Aurora’s night wear are filled with fantastical designs. She seems to be living in a fantasy home. The Spirit nominated camera work is also quite impressive, from the use of tilts, push-ins, canted angles, and rotating movements, the visuals are never not given highly stylized treatment.
In addition to the Lord’s Prayer, the music score is partially dark but also whimsical with closing credits featuring a deep and thematically appropriate ABBA cut called Tiger.
For a first-time film, Fuller has created something truly original bridging the worlds of fantasy and reality in new and unexpected ways. Let’s hope Hollywood doesn’t give him a bigger budget and destroy his creative vision.
Dust Bunny is currently playing in a very limited theatrical release. It is also available to stream/buy on Amazon Prime.
FILM: DUST BUNNY
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: BRYAN FULLER
STARRING: MADS MIKKELSEN, SOPHIE SLOAN, SIGOURNEY WEAVER
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Those of you that regularly read my reviews know that I rarely cover fantasies or thrillers. It’s not that I have anything against them but there are plenty of critics who enjoy spending their time with those films more than I do. My own niche is in international, documentary, and independent film. Dust Bunny though came to me as a nominee for two Independent Spirit Awards this year. Because I’m a voting member and ballots are almost due, I thought it was my duty to check this one out. Plus, it stars Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver so how bad could it be? Well, surprise, this is one helluva film experience that is wildly unpredictable and so well-crafted that I can’t figure out how it possibly became eligible for a Spirit Award, which requires a budget less than $30 million. (The reported budget was $12 million, which is completely surprising.) There’s no question that the budget was stretched as far as it could go to make a stunning visual achievement.
The premise surrounds a young girl named Aurora who believes there is a monster under her bed ready to eat her and anyone else that walks on her floor. During an early scene, Aurora creeps out of bed at night to follow her mysterious neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) as he begins fighting what appear to be dragons outside with the help of swords and his general heroic abilities. So, what begins as a young girl’s issue turns into something much bigger – at least on the surface. The early scenes are from the perspective of Aurora and conventional wisdom would suggest that this is part of a dream she is having. It is too fantastical! However, later the film switches its perspective to that of the neighbor (he is not given a name but is referred to in the credits as “Intriguing Neighbor.”) He has conversations with a woman named Laverne, played by Sigourney Weaver, which makes it clear: this is not just a story inside a young girl’s head. There’s more going on here.
It is this twisted, unpredictable plot that adds intrigue to a film that may look like something not more than a special effects show. There’s some real depth of character being developed here, particularly with Aurora. She’s far from the typical scared little girl that needs protection. She’s quite resourceful, not cutesy, and darkly comical. She is more than up to the challenge of working with Intriguing Neighbor, whom she hires to kill the monster. She gets the money “to procure his services” (she learns a new word a day) by stealing it from a church service during a musical number set to The Lord’s Prayer – the pop hit interpretation of the famous prayer by Sister Janet Mead which was a Top 40 hit when I was a kid. (I even had the 45… I never thought I’d hear it again!)
Suffice to say, the plot and action get more intense with the monster becoming more dangerous, Aurora’s parents going missing, and the FBI getting involved. Writer/Director Bryan Fuller’s script offers some thematic elements that also add some depth to the film. At one-point, Intriguing Neighbor suggests that monsters are in fact men. They can be evil and often must be fought. Sometimes the good are defeated and sometimes they come out on top as the most powerful.
However, the real treat here is the visual world Fuller has created. The sets look like something out of a Wes Anderson film, filled with colorful, symmetrical elements. The production design is outstanding to behold. Everything from the stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows to Aurora’s night wear are filled with fantastical designs. She seems to be living in a fantasy home. The Spirit nominated camera work is also quite impressive, from the use of tilts, push-ins, canted angles, and rotating movements, the visuals are never not given highly stylized treatment.
In addition to the Lord’s Prayer, the music score is partially dark but also whimsical with closing credits featuring a deep and thematically appropriate ABBA cut called Tiger.
For a first-time film, Fuller has created something truly original bridging the worlds of fantasy and reality in new and unexpected ways. Let’s hope Hollywood doesn’t give him a bigger budget and destroy his creative vision.
Dust Bunny is currently playing in a very limited theatrical release. It is also available to stream/buy on Amazon Prime.