Plot: What’s it about?
If you’re either a fan and/or familiar with the works of Bryan Fuller that’s a good thing. I say that in the sense that watching Dust Bunny won’t take you quite as off guard as it did with me. This is a strange film. Writer/Director Bryan Fuller made a name for himself mainly on the small screen with some oddball choices like Hannibal, Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies. If any of those are your particular cup of tea, then welcome to the party. If not, give this one a chance. Take every kid’s worst fear (there’s something under my bed) and turn it into a feature-length film with Mads “The Indie King” Mikkelsen and, well, here we are.
We meet Aurora (Sophie Sloan), a young girl who believes there’s a monster living under her bed. By her account, the creature resembles, you guessed it – a dust bunny. It hides beneath the floorboards and, not shockingly, her parents don’t believe her. But that trust is questioned once the monster, well, eats them. It’s about this time when Aurora decides to follow her neighbor in Apartment 5B (Mads Mikkelsen) into the city and witnesses him as he fights (and presumably kills) a dragon. This convinces Aurora that he’s the man for the job. She gathers what little money she has and attempts to hire the man in 5B to kill the monster under her bed.
As strange as this film is, I have to admit that it grew on me. I’m a fan of Mads Mikkelsen’s work, he’s made some pretty “adventurous” choices with his roles ranging from a Bond villain , a Marvel villain to a man who’s trapped in the snow, fighting for his life. To say that the man has range is something of an understament. Given that Mikkelsen also played the character of Hannibal on TV, it’s no coincidence that he was cast in this role. Given the offbeat tone of this one, I was also reminded (both in tone and context) of other films like Gretel & Hansel and Longlegs. I can only imagine the things that might run through one’s mind if all three of these films are viewed in succession. But, having said all that, I still enjoyed the movie – it’s something we don’t see a lot of and, to me, that’s a good thing.
Video: How’s it look?
No, that’s not a typo. If you’re going to sit down and watch this film, you’ll be viewing something in a 3.00:1 aspect ratio. I can remember in my college days I’d burn copies of LaserDiscs and then rent the VHS copies out to my fraternity brothers. The main comment I’d get was “Hey Brighton, what’s with the bars on the top and bottom?” Granted, we were all viewing movies on 20″ 4:3 TV’s so I understood what they were asking. Flash forward a few decades and 16:9 TV’s have been the norm for quite some time with the recent trend going back to an academy standard of 1.78:1/1.85:1 aspect ratio. The movie Dust Bunny says “No thank you.” If you thought that movies like Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur stretched the limits of your screen, think again. Director Bryan Fuller fills all of this space with tons of color, but also plenty of darker scenes. In many ways, this is like a comic book come to life. Colors are bright and bold, no compression issues and so forth. In other words, save for a few softer scenes, this one delivers one of the more distinctly visual movie-watching experiences I’ve ever encountered.
Audio: How’s it sound?
This is a highly nuanced Dolby Atmos sound mix that has some great moments and others are left alone. That’s not bad, of course. Vocals are pure, rich and crisp with some scenes offering a nice, subtle ambiance that fills the room. I’m somewhat glad we don’t know exactly how a monster living under a bed would sound – that’d be unnerving. Nevertheless, this track has some moments but it’s certainly not the lynchpin that holds the film together.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Making Dust Bunny – Just that. We get some input from the filmmakers, cast and crew along with some behind the scenes footage.
- Monster Craft – In the “this is essentially a glorified trailer” department, we’ve got this.
- Q & A Sizzle – Director Bryan Fuller and star Mads Mikkelsen answer some questions, all :45 seconds of ’em.
- Cute to Cutthroat – The cast tries to analyze the “monster” in the film.
- Mads Choreography Video – Pretty much that. We get a split screen look at the “before” and “afeer.”
- Cast Explainers – Some other cast members offer their comments on the project.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
This is a weird one. No doubt about it. If you can get past the screen-stretching aspect ratio and just sit back and enjoy the ride, it’ll be a lot more fun. But, to the filmmakers credit, it is original so for as much cookie-cutting that Hollywood does these days, it’s a treat to see something you’ve really not seen before.
