What does a Bryan Fuller film look like? That’s what many of us were thinking when the man behind TV hits Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, Hannibal, and Star Trek Discovery teased Dust Bunny back in 2022. The writer/producer has made a name for himself with quirky, comic, and macabre properties, securing a huge cult following with the currently dormant, but beloved, Hannibal TV adaptation starring Mads Mikkelsen. Whilst there’s no news of Hannibal season 4, fans can whet their appetite with the reunion of Fuller and Mikkelsen in Dust Bunny; Fuller’s family friendly horror thriller and feature film debut.
Aurora (Sophie Sloan), is an intensely imaginative 8-year-old who thinks there’s a monster under her bed. She also thinks her mysterious neighbour (Mikkelsen) is a monster hunter. After her parents disappear, Aurora hires her neighbour to kill the monster, unaware that he’s a high-profile hitman with a legion of assassins on his tail.
Fuller tackling the family audience will feel strange for Hannibal fans, but it totally makes sense. Here’s a guy that has spent years pursuing adventure, sci-fi, mortal realities, wide-eyed optimism, love, and feel-good messages in the darkest places for 30 odd years. Dust Bunny is no different. It plays out like a mash up of Luc Besson’s Leon and Chad Stahelski’s John Wick by way of Roald Dahl’s whimsical macabre. There are notes of Wes Anderson’s deadpan quirk, a touch of Tim Burton’s melancholy Gothic, the boldness of 80’s family thrillers, the weirdness of Marc Caro/Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s surrealist aesthetics. It’s explosive, twist-filled, fun, with an eye to Fuller’s lifelong obsession with horror.
Dust Bunny is, first and foremost, a monster movie, but there’s a lovely mix of sweet and sour here. It’s family friendly without feeling toothless, action-packed without feeling sanitary. There will be a generation of kids who could cite this as a horror intro, just as Return to Oz, Gremlins, The Monster Squad, Ghostbusters, Goosebumps, The Hole, Krampus, and countless others have done for previous generations. Folks who enjoyed Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople or Jalmari Helander’s Big Game, will eat this right up.
Fuller proves a dab-hand with action sequences, be it Mikkelsen’s brutal punch ups, explosive gun fights, or the Jaws-like appearances of the Dust Bunny itself. The staging is constantly creative and as meticulously arranged as the sets and costumes. Whether its a pair of heels that double as revolvers, a back-alley brawl lit by fireworks, or the shark in a fish tank at a Chinese restaurant, Dust Bunny lets child-like enthusiasm turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. That’s its real strength.
Sigourney Weaver and David Dastmalchian understand the brief down to the letter, slipping seamlessly into Fuller’s world of weirdos with glee. Production designer Jeremy Reed takes the pastel palate of Wes Anderson, fills it with florals and Art Deco trimmings to create a unique comic book baroque. There’s something of Polaroid nostalgia and anime flare to the visual style too, something old and handcrafted but fresh and frenetic. At times the film feels like Amblin Entertainment reincarnated for the 22nd century, but it’s too unique to fit in with any kind of Studio CV.
Dust Bunny is a sprawling mood board of ideas and influences, perfectly honed to a tightly packed 146 minutes of absolute joy. It’s grown up, childish, ridiculous, beautiful, honest, hilarious, stupid, and has something for everyone. So, to answer the question posed earlier, what does a Bryan Fuller film look like? Judging by Dust Bunny a Bryan Fuller film is, at the very least, immensely entertaining, batshit, and sincere to the core.
4/5
Scott Clark
Dir. Bryan Fuller
Stars. Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian,
