A Fantasy-action hybrid shot with a strange aspect ratio

PLOT: A child hires the hitman next door (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the monster under her bed.

REVIEW: Dust Bunny marks the feature directorial debut of Bryan Fuller. While it may be his first film, Fuller has had a long career as a showrunner on television, with Pushing Daisies, Heroes, and Hannibal (a series he seems far from finished with) among his biggest cult hits. For his jump to features, Fuller has crafted a unique fantasy film that often feels like a live-action Laika movie—albeit one with a heavy dose of gunplay.

That mix of childlike wonder and sudden bursts of violence may make the film tricky to market once Roadside releases it in December. It’s likely too whimsical for a standard adult audience, yet violent enough to earn an R-rating from the MPAA. That seems a bit harsh, though. Even with its surprisingly high body count, the violence is fairly restrained by genre standards. Fuller is clearly aiming for the “gateway horror” sweet spot once occupied by eighties films like The Company of Wolves or Return to Oz.

The first half hour, however, leans a little too far into the fantasy. Dialogue is sparse, and the pace can be challenging as we’re introduced to Sophie Sloan’s Aurora. She’s just lost her parents to the monster under her bed and wants it gone fast. One night, she follows her mysterious neighbor, 5B (named for his apartment number and played by Fuller’s favorite leading man, Mads Mikkelsen), and sees him dispatch what she thinks is a monster but is actually a gang of triads. He cuts them down in dazzling fashion with martial arts and swordplay. Convinced he’s the man for the job, she sends him money to kill her monster.

Mikkelsen’s 5B, though a lethal assassin, is intrigued by her request. As he digs deeper, he starts to suspect that Aurora’s “monster” may actually have been hitmen who targeted the wrong apartment, leaving him feeling responsible for her safety. Mikkelsen is at his charismatic best here, playing the archetypal hitman with a heart of gold. He has the physical presence to sell the action while generating surprisingly sweet chemistry with Sloan. A running gag about his inability to properly pronounce her name due to his accent adds warmth to their bond.

Fuller makes the most of his feature debut, working with cinematographer Nicole Hirsch Whitaker to shoot in an unusual 3:1 aspect ratio. For comparison, The Hateful Eight and Sinners, both shot in Ultra Panavision, were in 2.76:1. This format requires a full Cinemascope screen, which most modern theaters—standardized to 1.85:1—don’t properly accommodate. Watching Dust Bunny in a regular theater felt like seeing a letterboxed VHS on a 90s tube TV. It’s a bold, distinctive choice, though it may frustrate audiences unprepared for it.

This is what Dust Bunny looks like projected with a 3:1 ratio. Imagine what pan & scan would have done to it?

The cast is peppered with familiar genre faces. Sigourney Weaver shines in a tailor-made role as 5B’s boss, complete with a few badass moments that nod to her legacy as one of cinema’s great action heroines. David Dastmalchian’s late arrival drew huge cheers from the TIFF Midnight Madness crowd, as he’s already a fan favorite.

While the film takes about half an hour to find its rhythm, once it does, Dust Bunny is a lot of fun. Mikkelsen and Sloan’s chemistry, combined with Fuller’s eccentric vision, makes it feel refreshingly original. I’ll admit fantasy isn’t my preferred genre, but there’s a certain audience that will consider this an instant classic. I may not be one of them, but I still respected and enjoyed the ride.