Dust Bunny – Movie Review (3/5)

DUST BUNNY is a genre hybrid that combines the world of a child’s fantasy with true horror. The result is a monster horror movie starring Mads Mikkelsen with a wonderful ensemble cast across the board. As someone who loves a solid adventure and horror movies, this one hit a lot of the right notes for my taste. Read our Dust Bunny movie review here!

DUST BUNNY is a genre hybrid from Bryan Fuller. It’s a huge genre-hybrid full of adventure and craziness, but don’t let the cutesy beginning fool you. Before it’s all over, there are moments of rather brutal horror. Still set in this colorful and fascinating world, not unlike some of the previous works written by Bryan Fuller.

With Mads Mikkelsen in the lead adult role, we’re off to a great start. However, the supporting cast is also full of amazing and very familiar talent. Some of the most iconic genre actors are in this cast, which speaks volumes to the filmmaker. The runtime is 1 hour and 46 minutes, which is a little long, but I didn’t mind it. Not at all.

Continue reading our Dust Bunny movie review below. Find it on Digital from January 13, 2026.

How do you explain Dust Bunny?

I’m not sure how to describe Dust Bunny other than to call it a genre hybrid with an adventure plot. And yet, this doesn’t begin to describe what it has to offer.

Think Pushing Daisies (also a Bryan Fuller creation) meets John Wick meets Hugo meets Leon. Yeah, it’s a brilliantly colorful world full of childish wonder in a gorgeous fantasy setting. However, it’s also hardcore action with lots of death. Actually, we’re talking assassins and victims… but mostly the victims are assassins.

And then there’s the title character, which may or may not be real. The little girl certainly believes it’s real, and we see the dust bunny monster as real. With huge and sharp teeth and claws, it threatens to eat anyone who touches the floor. A very childish game that appears to have very adult consequences in this story.

The two perfect lead actors

Dust Bunny stars Mads Mikkelsen in a role known simply as “Intriguing Neighbor”, and Sophie Sloan as the little girl, Aurora. These two have a perfect chemistry as the quiet, but strangely warm, man trying to push away this curious and wildly intelligent and creative little girl.

I also loved the running joke that Mads Mikkelsen’s character cannot pronounce the name Aurora. I get the feeling this is based on the fact that Mads Mikkelsen sometimes struggles with pronunciation and is always ready to make fun of himself. In fact, there is a lot in Dust Bunny that reminded me of Danish movies by Anders Thomas Jensen that star Mads Mikkelsen as well.

If you’re up for watching movies in Danish, then you’ll definitely want to check those out. Just don’t do a dubbed version, as that will not give you the right tone or vibe. I mean, if you like Mads Mikkelsen in Dust Bunny, you’d love his (extremely diverse) characters in various Anders Thomas Jensen movies. Especially Riders of Justice.

Anyway, alongside Mads Mikkelsen and Sophie Sloan, we get the iconic Sigourney Weaver as a key character in the life of Intriguing Neighbor. Also, you’ll get to enjoy Sheila Atim (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Rebecca Henderson (Werewolves Within), and David Dastmalchian (Murderbot), to name just a few.

Watch Dust Bunny on VOD now

Bryan Fuller is the writer and director of Dust Bunny. Yes, the very same Bryan Fuller, who created the series Hannibal, which also starred Mads Mikkelsen in the title role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Since then, Bryan Fuller has also created Star Trek: Discovery and American Gods. Fans of Pushing Daisies will undoubtedly feel at home in the colorful and strange universe of Dust Bunny.

This is only the second directing credit for Bryan Fuller, and the first feature film he has directed. He previously directed two episodes of the documentary mini-series Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror for Shudder, which is definitely worth checking out as well.

Look, if you like the style of Bryan Fuller and the actors in the cast, then you’ll definitely want to watch Dust Bunny. It’s not a wild horror movie, which should be revealed from this being very much about the fear and fantasy of a little girl, but it does work extremely well with its premise. It’s a real treat of a genre hybrid that should please fans of Bryan Fuller’s imaginative world-building. Just surrender to it!

Dust Bunny is out on Digital from January 13, 2026.

Details

Director: Bryan Fuller
Writer: Bryan Fuller
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian, Sophie Sloan