Bryan Fuller’s ‘Dust Bunny’ Delivers Thrills and Chills in a Must-See Monster Movie

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What can a frightened little girl do to stop the ravenous monster lurking beneath her bedroom floor from devouring people? Hire a badass hitman to slay the beast, of course. Fortunately, a highly trained assassin has just moved in across the hall. This is the ingenious premise of Dust Bunny, the stunningly creative feature debut from acclaimed writer (Heroes) and television producer (American Gods) Bryan Fuller. True to form, Fuller delivers a dark fairy tale that’s beautifully shot, superbly acted, and brimming with thrilling action in a narrative that will keep you guessing until a bonkers climax.

A dust ball floats across the New City skyline on a crisp night, wafting through an open apartment window before settling under a bed. 10-year-old Aurora (Sophie Sloan) hides beneath her covers as the ball takes a sinister bunny shape, when the floorboards start to rumble while an ominous growl is heard. Aurora screams in terror as her parents (Line Kruse, Caspar Phillipson) rush in with their standard refrain; it’s all in her imagination, go back to sleep. They repeatedly ignore her warnings to stay off the floor.

Aurora decides to sleep on her fire escape for safety. A firefly catches her attention and swoops down towards the street, where it lands on a man entering the building. The intriguing new neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) enters apartment 5B, down the hall from her place. The next morning, Aurora watches 5B, whose character is never named, check his mailbox. She sneaks out again to follow him later that night.

Aurora slinks in alleys and scrambles on rooftops to nearby Chinatown. 5B looks around cautiously, since he can sense someone is stalking him. That suspicion is confirmed when murderous dragon dancers celebrating nearby attack him with fireworks and explosives. A mesmerized Aurora watches as 5B makes short work of what she sees as a monster from above, confirming she’s finally found the right person to help her.

Fuller’s script is wildly original, but let’s start with praising Dust Bunny’s eye-popping visuals. Each scene drips in red and green hues to highlight a clever production design. Aurora’s apartment, where most of the story takes place, looks cut from Victorian cloth with long hallways and arching doorways. The building has winding steps around an elevator shaft that’s filmed from above in a slow 360-degree motion. Fuller and cinematographer Nicole Hirsch Whitaker (Lioness, One Piece) use this strategy throughout, with the camera tilting to focus the viewer’s perspective on a specific angle. This looks especially good in highly choreographed fights and shootouts where the characters clutch the walls. Fuller and Whitaker then shoot with wide-angle lenses that narrow to an elongated focal point, making every room seem cavernous, but with a distant background that lurks like a horror element when a surging attack comes forward. An apt comparison would be a shark swimming towards you with menacing ripples in the water.

Roadside Attractions

Fuller’s use of CGI and puppetry is also exemplary. He drops tantalizing creature hints like breadcrumbs, leading to razor-sharp teeth and claws. Aurora cowers whenever she senses the monster’s presence, and we know it’s a behemoth bunny, but only viewed in bits and pieces in an escalating reveal with a sound design that amplifies the fear factor. Imagine putting your ear against a door and hearing something huge snarling mere inches away; there’s a temptation to sneak a peek, but self-preservation trumps curiosity.

Dust Bunny’s mystery deepens as 5B begrudgingly gets to know Aurora. How she "procures" his services is hilarious and another testament to Fuller’s wit. But the big question remains, could everything be inside her head and just figments of a scared child? 5B embraces this train of thought as the only rational answer to a dangerous dilemma. Could she be manifesting a monster to shield her psyche from a traumatic event? If Aurora is indeed being threatened, the culprits must be flesh and blood. What makes her special? Why would anyone want to harm her? 5B employs logic and reason for a situation that’s beyond his adult comprehension.

© Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection

The bells and whistles are awesome, but it’s Dust Bunny’s rich character development and relationship dynamics that are central to the film’s success. Fuller’s script initially depends on unknown variables to entice the viewer, which evolves as Aurora places her trust and faith in 5B’s ability to protect her. Children need care, guidance, and certainty. 5B listens to Aurora, despite his misgivings, and becomes the father figure she so desperately needs. Conversely, she completes him in a way that he never thought was possible. There’s an endearing sweetness as he constantly mispronounces her name, and she corrects him, despite not knowing his. 5B’s purpose as a killer was shrouded in darkness, and Aurora represents an innocence that must be saved from man and possibly monsters alike. Sloane and Mikkelsen, who starred in Fuller’s Hannibal, have tremendous chemistry.

*Dust Bunny *has twists aplenty. Several of the supporting characters are key to bombshell reveals, but also aren’t named or seriously explored. They are one-note in this regard and can be criticized as easy fixes to an intricate plot. That said, *Dust Bunny’s *dazzling entertainment value more than makes up for any minor flaws. It’s definitely the best freaky bunny film since Donnie Darko, and that’s high praise.

*Dust Bunny *is a production of Thunder Road Films and Living Dead Guy Productions. It will be released theatrically on December 12th from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Release Date December 12, 2025

Runtime 106 minutes

Director Bryan Fuller

Writers Bryan Fuller

Producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Bryan Fuller

Uncredited