Few family-friendly films are genuinely terrifying. Some, like Coraline or Gremlins, find ways to balance approachability and scares. But, more often than not, these films feel split between trying to instill nightmares and ending things on a cheery note. Bryan Fuller’s Dust Bunny may not fully balance those sensibilities, but it delivers a monster story for all ages that doesn’t skimp on the surprising brutality that’s characterized Fuller’s previous projects, including Hannibal and several Star Trek series. It does so while also telling a touching tale of what it means to grow up and make peace with your monsters.
In a hilarious and thrilling dialogue-free prologue that acts almost as an extended comedy sketch, we’re introduced to a little girl, Aurora (Sophie Sloan), who lives with her foster parents. She warns them of a monster that’s under her bed: a literal dust bunny that’s grown to a gargantuan size and consumes anything that moves (think of the shark from Jaws, but with longer teeth and more fur). After her parents fail to heed her warnings and get eaten, Aurora goes to her neighbor, an unnamed hit man played by Mads Mikkelsen. She witnessed him dispatch his targets (with firecrackers, no less) in the film’s prologue, and is convinced his skills are what’s needed to vanquish the monster.
Understandably, Mikkelsen’s hit man is wary of getting entangled in Aurora’s business; he’s convinced that Aurora is using the monster as a way to interpret real-life trauma. While the hit man wrestles with the veracity of Aurora’s claims, the hypothetical and potential threats become real once his handler (Sigourney Weaver) dispatches a host of mercenaries after Aurora, wanting to tie up loose ends now that Aurora is aware of the hit man’s capabilities. This prompts a whole host of colorful characters to enter the picture as potential assailants or comrades, with David Dastmalchian and Sheila Atim being worthy of praise for being on the film’s chaotic wavelength.
There’s some real-world darkness that looms over Dust Bunny that could easily push it to macabre territory. Those who have been eaten stay digested, there’s a particularly gnarly kill involving a toothbrush and an eyeball, and Weaver’s handler character explicitly states many times that it’s not beneath her to kill children like Aurora. Fuller reigns in the bleakness by working with DP Nicole Hirsch Whitaker to give the movie a playful and facetious energy. There’s a slapstick, almost surreal quality to the film’s events that defangs its most brutal moments; this might feel counterintuitive, but in this case, it puts viewers into Aurora’s mindset.
When kids experience traumatic events, they often analyze their experience through the prism of fantasy or constructed frameworks, and Fuller expertly captures that feeling here. From a sequence where Weaver’s henchmen retreat from the titular Dust Bunny in unison, their firing guns and feet creating a dance-like cadence, or the ways Fuller draws attention to the strange accessories that adorn Aurora’s surroundings (a stuffed hen with a light bulb sticking out of its rear will no doubt do numbers on Etsy), Dust Bunny feels both palpably violent and full of wonder. It’s a film that keeps shifting into new outrageous gears, and the excitement comes from seeing how we might be surprised by another zany image or creative set piece.
It’s not all colorful bells and whistles, though, as Aurora and the hit man’s journeys are refreshingly free from the tropes associated with a grizzled, violent man mentoring a young child. Aurora is at the age where tragedy is so destabilizing that the only way to make sense of it is to think you somehow had something to do with it. We need people in our lives like Mads’ character who can remind us that the world’s cruelties are not our fault.
Dust Bunny is a film that reminds us that monsters under our bed don’t disappear when we grow up; they simply take on new, pernicious forms. At the same time, growing up doesn’t mean that we have to face every challenge alone, and family and friendship can come from the most unexpected places. It’s the heart of messages like these that make Dust Bunny feel like a family classic in the making. Yes, it’s spooky, but it reminds us that we can always overcome that which frightens us.
Dust Bunny had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It will debut in U.S. theaters through Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions on December 5.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
