Films for Breakfast

It’s hard to make anything genuinely original these days, and I’ll always respect a film that takes a big swing; even when it doesn’t fully land for me. Dust Bunny is a fascinating case: it’s built from so many ingredients I love, inventive world-building, a fantasy-action blend, a character-driven emotional core, etc. Yet it never quite manages to hold the weight of everything it’s reaching for within its relatively brief runtime.

Directed by Bryan Fuller (his feature debut) it arrives with the baggage of his reputation. For the real ones, he’s the mind behind Pushing Daisies, American Gods, and, of course, my beloved Hannibal, one of my all-time favorite shows and one I’m still praying gets revived in some form. Fuller’s television work is so original, so lushly cinematic, that I was genuinely excited to see what he’d do on the big screen.

Dust Bunny follows eight-year-old Aurora (Sophie Sloan), who hires her scheming neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the monster she believes lives under her bed and devoured her family. Initially reluctant, he’s eventually drawn into her quest, forcing both characters to confront their own fears. 

There’s plenty here that works. The production design is frequently excellent: the practical sets, the dream-world imagery, the liminal spaces, and the creature work all feel considered and creatively built. Mikkelsen makes for a compellingly rough-edged hero, and Sloan is genuinely terrific; she carries entire stretches of the film with surprising ease. Their chemistry gives the movie its beating heart.

Where the film falters is in its screenplay and direction. The story often feels muddy, withholding too much of its internal logic. I can respect avoiding hand-holding, but the result is a fantasy world that’s intriguing in theory yet oddly dull in practice because it never feels fully tangible – production design aside. Fuller’s direction ends up being a mixed bag: he has a strong sense of mood and knows how to use space, but the action and overall narrative rhythm feel choppy, which undercuts momentum and makes the final act’s payoff land with a thud.

The practical effects shine, but the visual effects are inconsistent. They aren’t disastrous, but a handful of sequences look distractingly rough, pulling me out of the film even when other elements were working. I understand the limitations of an indie budget, but execution matters, and it occasionally weakened the experience.

What ultimately keeps Dust Bunny afloat is its emotional sincerity. The film genuinely cares about its two leads – their grief, fears, and need for a friend. Even when the story falters, the performances and the film’s earnestness help keep it grounded.

In the end, I wish I loved Dust Bunny more. But I stand by what I said up top: originality matters, and I’ll always respect a film for taking a real shot. Fuller clearly wanted to make something unlike anything we’ve seen, and even if this one doesn’t entirely come together, it makes me excited to see what he does next.