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Last year, Dust Bunny arrived in theaters with all of the impact of a lint ball despite receiving critical acclaim.
Now that it’s on HBO Max, this dark fantasy action film has received a second chance to find an audience.
This is the directorial debut for Bryan Fuller, the creator of NBC’s Hannibal, and it reunites him with the star of that show, Mads Mikkelsen.
Watch With Us thinks Dust Bunny is a must-watch for any HBO Max subscriber this May, and here are three reasons why it should be in your queue.
Mads Mikkelsen Gives One of His Best Performances
Mads Mikkelsen in Dust Bunny. Gabor Kotschy / © Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection
Many of Mikkelsen’s best-known roles have been villainous characters like Hannibal Lecter, Le Chiffre in Casino Royale and Gellert Grindelwald in the third Fantastic Beasts film. At first glance, the unnamed hitman in Dust Bunny is cut from the same cloth. He kills his enemies without mercy, and he can turn almost anything into a lethal weapon.
That’s why his next-door neighbor, Aurora (Sophie Sloan), wants to hire the man to kill the monster that lives under her bed. Aurora witnessed the man in action, and she misinterpreted his foes as a single monster rather than several men. The man is initially bemused and bewildered by her story, but he comes to realize there may be more to Aurora’s monster than she can perceive. Mikkelsen is very convincing as the man develops fatherly feelings of affection towards Aurora, which play out like a more wholesome version of Leon: The Professional. He also has great chemistry with his young co-star, Sloan, who is very impressive in her first movie role.
The Story Masterfully Blends Fantasy and Reality
Sophie Sloan in Dust Bunny. Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection
Mikkelsen’s character doesn’t see the world the way that Aurora does, but the audience is largely locked into her POV. When she senses the monster in her room, we see it with her. It’s everyone else who is blind to the reality that Aurora is experiencing. The man is convinced that Aurora’s imaginary monster is actually a threat to his own life, but there’s nothing supernatural about it.
It’s not as if the man is wrong about people who want him dead. There are several attempts on his life throughout the film, and he’s convinced that Aurora is only experiencing her delusions of a monster because of her age. However, the film goes to great lengths to make the audience question what they’re seeing, and Aurora’s monster is clearly real to her. It’s a piece of fantasy that intrudes upon the criminal underworld that the man lives in. One of this film’s great accomplishments is that the fantasy and reality elements collide in such a compelling way.
‘Dust Bunny’ Goes to Unpredictable Places
Sigourney Weaver has a sinister turn in this film as a woman named Laverine, while David Dastmalchian and Rebecca Henderson play unnamed rival assassins to the man. All three of them are terrific as the primary villains, while Sheila Atim is also very good as Brenda, a social worker who is more than she seems.
Dust Bunny heads towards a conclusion that seems suited for a John Wick film, and then it takes off in a wildly unexpected direction. We’re not going to give away the details of the final act or the ending, but we will say that this movie’s final minutes are largely unpredictable. It does something rarely seen in stories like this by making the audience realize that the clues were there all along about its true nature. That ending alone makes this a must-watch movie in April.
Dust Bunny is now streaming on HBO Max.
