When you have children of different ages, finding stuff to watch together can be a big challenge. Both of my kids — aged 10 and 12 — have a budding interest in horror, and there’s not a lot of scary stuff that’s appropriate for all of us. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised while watching Dust Bunny on day 6 of the Toront oInternational Film Festival (TIFF).
It’s the feature film debut from Bryan Fuller, a TV veteran best-known for Hannibal and Pushing Daisies. And even though Dust Bunny is technically rated R, the violence is pretty restrained, and much of the darkest stuff is implied rather than shown explicitly. I actually had a chance to talk to Fuller after I saw it, and he mentioned the original Gremlins as a big inspiration. (Expect more from our conversation closer to the film’s theatrical release.) That movie had plenty of blood and gore, and yet it remains a family classic, and I think the imaginative Dust Bunny might fulfill a similar role in my household.
Elsewhere, I watched two great performances from Colin Farrell and Dwayne Johnson. Unfortunately, only one of them was in a good film. You can check out my thoughts on all three movies below — and catch up on the rest of my TIFF reviews here.
And a programming note: even though TIFF runs through September 14th, this was (probably) my last full day at the festival, so this will likely be the final dispatch. That said, I’m hoping to stop by on the weekend to catch a few movies that I missed, so there may be a bonus dispatch on the weekend. But I also have a handful of other stories out of TIFF to write, including an interview with the director of Exit 8. So, stay tuned!
Dust Bunny serves as an excellent introduction to the world of horror. It tells the story of 10-year-old Aurora (Sophie Sloan), who is dealing with a monster under her bed and procures the services of her neighbor from down the hall (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill it. He just so happens to be a hit man, so it’s a good fit. There are some scares and a surprising amount of action, but part of what makes Dust Bunny so approachable is that the violence is pretty restrained. It’s basically a buddy cop movie with a big furry monster, and Sigourney Weaver even makes an appearance as a delightfully cold-hearted assassin wrangler.
In theaters on December 5th.
Dwayne Johnson is almost unrecognizable as pioneering MMA fighter Mark Kerr — and I mean that in the best way. The film follows Kerr’s career between 1997 and 2000, when he first burst onto the scene as a seemingly invincible fighter in a burgeoning sport, and continues through his struggles with addiction and eventual return to the ring. Unlike most sports biopics, The Smashing Machine is raw and tragic, but that’s probably no surprise coming from Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie. What is surprising, though, is just how well Johnson inhabits the role, not just physically but also with his calm, rational vibe, punctuated by rare bouts of terrifying rage.
In theaters on October 3rd.
The latest from Conclave director Edward Berger looks slick, and Colin Farrell puts in an excellent but ultimately wasted performance as Lord Doyle, a gambling addict with a mountain of debt who also happens to be just awful at gambling. He’s living in Macau, trying to escape his creditors, but is racking up all new kinds of debt at a fancy hotel. He eventually tries to get his act together after being pursued by an investigator (Tilda Swinton). But the problem is that Doyle is a liar and a fraud with few redeeming qualities, and the film gives you zero reasons to root for him, especially considering his eventual method for vindication means he didn’t learn a single lesson.
In select theaters on October 15th, streaming on Netflix on October 29th.
