{"id":2055288,"date":"2025-09-28T06:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T06:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2055288"},"modified":"2025-09-28T06:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T06:16:00","slug":"dust-bunny-tiff-2025-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/dust-bunny-tiff-2025-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Dust Bunny \u2013 TIFF 2025 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Dust Bunny<\/em> should have been one of the easiest slam dunks of this year\u2019s TIFF lineup. It\u2019s the directorial debut of legendary showrunner Bryan Fuller, he\u2019s reteaming with <em>Hannibal <\/em>star <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cgmagonline.com\/review\/game\/death-stranding-review\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Mads Mikkelsen;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Mads Mikkelsen<\/a>, and a creative concept that marries <em>Leon: The Professional,<\/em> <em>Pan\u2019s Labyrinth <\/em>and even a hint of <em>Tremors<\/em>. And yet, even with the typically lively Midnight Madness crowd, I spent the entirety of <em>Dust Bunny <\/em>profoundly bored out of my skull.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The film follows ten-year-old Aurora (Sophie Sloan), a little girl living in terror of the monster under her bed, and warns her parents about not touching the floor so it won\u2019t eat them. Her parents brush it off as her imagination, except it\u2019s very much real. One night, she comes across her neighbour, a nameless hitman (Mads Mikkelsen) and follows him through Chinatown. The neighbour takes out an entire gang in the midst of a Chinese New Year parade but Aurora, only seeing the shadows, believes him to be a monster slayer and decides to hire him to kill the monster.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Dust Bunny &#8211; TIFF 2025 Review<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There are a few things I will give the film credit for. Sophie Sloan carries most of the movie on her shoulders, especially in the film\u2019s nearly silent first act. She\u2019s precocious yet resourceful, and she makes a solid first impression in her debut performance. Also, for the most part, Jeremy Reed\u2019s production design is fantastic. The highly stylized sets have a storybook-like aesthetic to them that, while directly inspired by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, also feels reminiscent of Fuller\u2019s incredibly underrated <em>Pushing Daisies<\/em>. The only exception to this would be the monster itself: a giant monstrous dust bunny who feels like a rough draft, both in design and the actual visual effects themselves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As strong as the opening is, once Mikkelsen becomes more entangled into the mix, the cracks show quickly. The neighbour is convinced that Aurora is imagining this monster, and that she may just be a grieving child whose parents he may have killed in the past. It\u2019s an idea that seems interesting on paper, but never properly develops on screen. It doesn\u2019t help when a majority of their dynamic consists of Aurora yelling that the monster is real, and the neighbor saying \u201cno it isn\u2019t\u201d over and over again. It gets repetitive real fast.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI desperately wanted to love <em>Dust Bunny<\/em>. There is a world where this concept is executed brilliantly, but the movie we got now is just a mishmash of ideas that don\u2019t mix well together at all. \u201c<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mikkelsen is typically great at playing <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cgmagonline.com\/review\/movie\/casino-royale-2006-review\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:emotionally detached yet nuanced characters;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">emotionally detached yet nuanced characters<\/a>. But even when he does start to form a bond with Aurora, it just comes across as him just sleepwalking through the whole thing. Even worse is the world of assassins in which he inhabits isn\u2019t any more interesting than him. How the film manages to make the more eccentric performances from <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cgmagonline.com\/news\/sigourney-weaver-reprising-old-role-in-new-ghostbusters-film\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sigourney Weaver;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Sigourney Weaver<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cgmagonline.com\/review\/movie\/the-suicide-squad-2021-review\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:David Dastmalchian;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">David Dastmalchian<\/a> feel boring baffles me to no end.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Dust Bunny - TIFF 2025 Review\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/RBm6AlBJ3mbn7MJ4DhI2Fg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/cg_magazine_431\/4e52cf0a312012a4735d9091e82d58a4\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Dust Bunny &#8211; TIFF 2025 Review<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">One of my biggest issues with the movie is it\u2019s hard to figure out who the film is intended for. Although the film is seemingly a child-friendly entry point into horror, the bloodless kills feel both too brutal for kids, but also not brutal enough for older audiences. It\u2019s already struggling to balance its wildly disparate tones, but by the time the film takes another hard swing into a big action set-piece in the third act, it was still too little, too late.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I desperately wanted to love <em>Dust Bunny<\/em>. There is a world where this concept is executed brilliantly, but the movie we got now is just a mishmash of ideas that don\u2019t mix well together at all. Most of the humor falls flat, the action and horror elements lack any real bite, and the central dynamic between the two main characters lacks heart. I still have hope in Fuller\u2019s potential as a filmmaker, but as it stands, I\u2019m happier to leave <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt23172090\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:this story;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">this story<\/a> on the shelf.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dust Bunny should have been one of the easiest slam dunks of this year\u2019s TIFF lineup. It\u2019s the directorial debut of legendary showrunner Bryan Fuller, he\u2019s reteaming with Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen, and a creative concept that marries Leon: The Professional, Pan\u2019s Labyrinth and even a hint of Tremors. And yet, even with the typically [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2055289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[382283,347652,367130,366952,382282],"class_list":["post-2055288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-aurora","tag-bryan-fuller","tag-dust-bunny","tag-mads-mikkelsen","tag-sophie-sloan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Dust-Bunny-\u2013-TIFF-2025-Review.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2055288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2055288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2055288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2055289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2055288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2055288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2055288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}