For being Bryan Fuller’s film directorial debut, Dust Bunny is absolutely fearless. From its design to the dialogue and the overall story, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before because of how fearless this director was. And this is coming from a director I’m very familiar with. I’ve seen his work on Star Trek: Voyager before I even knew who he was. And of course there’s the iconic Hannibal series. Nevertheless, Dust Bunny was an absolute delight that surprised me at every turn.
At the heart of Dust Bunny is Aurora. Played by Sophie Sloan, Aurora is an inquisitive young girl whose parents were apparently killed by a monster under her bed. And she does what any young girl would do and goes to hire her neighbor, played by Mads Mikkelsen, to kill said monster. And what’s really interesting is that in the beginning of the movie we see everything from her perspective. A child’s imagination is a wondrous thing in real life and Fuller elevates that with Aurora, making you question everything around you.
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While you’re sitting there questioning if this little girl is telling the truth about a monster under her bed, her relationship with Mikkelsen’s neighbor character begins to grow. That leads to the perspective shifting, the story no longer just being told from a child’s perspective. As their bond grows, these two have this funny, challenging, and witty banter between them that reminds me of Léon: The Professional while standing on its own two feet. Aurora and the neighbor aren’t Leon and Mathilda. They’re two inquisitive, resourceful, and bold individuals who choose each other in a world where there might or might not be an evil dust bunny underneath the girl’s bed.
The ending of Dust Bunny also was really satisfying. Oftentimes I feel like movies in 2025 end on a downer note or don’t understand what the audience truly wants, which is a satisfying conclusion to resolve what the characters have been through while setting them up for the future. And I feel like that’s what Dust Bunny did in a really well-paced movie with fun dialogue that was oftentimes lighthearted but compelling and offbeat.
I did want to take a moment of this review to talk about the world that Fuller built in Dust Bunny.
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We can recognize a Wes Anderson movie a mile away. He’s got this really vibrant color pallete, his characters are eccentric, and he loves symmetry. In Dust Bunny, you could see Fuller working on creating his own very distinctive style that he can absolutely replicate in his next movie and the one after that. The color palette was distinct and really tied together with this childlike wonder that comes from story books. At the same time the symmetry of the shots were really meticulous, and again, distinct to him. And everything from the toys on Aurora’s bed to the tracksuit that Mikkelsen wore, you can see the intention behind it to create this singular Byran Fuller world.
Overall, Dust Bunny is probably the most fun I’ve had in a movie theater in a really long time. The visual elements interposed with the action sequences, including a super cool one with Sigourney Weaver, kept me locked in. The dialogue was too charming and had this subtle edge to it that had me laughing all the time. And the reveal on whether Aurora is telling the truth or not about this monster under her bed, is well worth the wait. This entire movie builds on the moment before it and doesn’t forget how it started. And that just makes me want to watch Dust Bunny again and I look forward to what Bryan Fuller has planned next.
If this is what he does with his film directorial debut, imagine what he can do next?
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Dust Bunny screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
