Dust Bunny - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Dust Bunny

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I knew next to nothing about Dust Bunny going into this review other than the fact that this was starring Mads Mikkelson and he was collaborating with Hannibal alum Bryan Fuller (who is directing his first feature film here) and I’m for anything that Mads Mikkelson is in. Couple that with the absolutely bizarre trailer and I was popping some popcorn (Amish country lady finger popcorn to be precise this night) in anticipation

Young Aurora (Sophie Sloan) is convinced that there is a monster living under the floor boards of her bed. She wished for it years ago, only for it to eat her parents and (actually 2 sets of them, including foster parents) and continually haunt her as she moves from family to family. Wishing upon a firefly, Aurora dreams of a savior to come and whisk her away from the monsters clutches. And guess what? It seems the universe has answered in the form of a hit man whom we know as Resident 5B (Mads Mikkelson) who just so happens to be the next door neighbor. Completely convinced that Aurora is just having childish dreams and that her newest set of foster parents were actually killed by other hit men after him, he guiltily agrees to take her $327 and some change and ward off the impending killers.

And Resident 5B isn’t wrong. His handler Laverne (Sigourney Weaver) informs him that all of his old rivals have put out a hit on him, and are coming to finish him off for good. And to make matters worse, he has become attached to Aurora and wants to protect her from the “monsters” that are coming after both of them. As the story unfolds we see that there is something strange about the young girls story. At first Resident 5B is sure that they were after him, but there seems to be a case for somebody coming after her as well. Digging deeper and deeper into her story, the tired old Hit Man starts to realize that something else is at play here. Something dark and malevolent that very well may change his view on the world altogether.

Bryan Fuller’s Dust Bunny was originally going to be an episode on Amazing Stories, and was supposed to mimic the wonder and terror of those old Amblin properties. Instead it got fleshed out to a feature film, and I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, the film is utterly delicious in its visual aesthetics. The entire film is bathed in gaudy colors, hallucinogenic dreamlike sequences, and some superb violence that makes for some great action scenes. But ultimately the film feels stretched a little too far. Almost like an SNL skit that gets turned into a movie. The premise is fantastic, and the Amblin like qualities make for a surreal experience, but it’s just about 15 minutes too long, and really felt like it would have been better off with a 1 hour HBO special type of presentation.

That being said, the entire film is superbly acted, with Mads Mikkelson turning in a stellar performance as a grizzled hitman, and Sigourney Weaver hamming it up as the maniacal Laverne (with “killer” heels I might add). And lets not forget David Dastmalchian as this movie’s version of “Creepy Thin Man”. The film itself is soaked in ambiance and atmosphere, rivaling early 2000s Spielberg aesthetics. And the story itself is fascinating. It dances between reality and fantasy, hinting at both quite heavily till the very end. And even then, winding little threads of doubt that make you wonder what is real and what IS in Aurora’s head. Heck, even Resident 5B has little clues that he may be a figment of Aurora’s imagination as well. It’s a great concept and one that works well with the fantastical elements of the story.




Rating:

Rated R for some violence




4K Video: Video:

Shot entirely on Alex Mini’s and put onto a 4K master for home video, Lionsgate’s 4K UHD disc looks really impressive. It’s heavily stylized color wise, with almost gaudy looking colors reminiscent of old Russian architecture and paintings, mixed with dim lighting and a slightly amber and blue color grading. It’s a striking image for sure, with an almost European flair to everything, giving the audience that sense of exotic and otherworldly at times. There’s a shocking lack of brightness to the image, and I mean actual BRIGHTNESS. Except for a couple of scenes with Sigourney Weaver’s character in the restaurant, I felt that this was almost oppressively dark, yet still showing picture perfect shadow details. Needless to say, this is a really stylistic image, and to put the cherry on top, the entire thing is framed in ULTRA scope, 3:00:1 which took a bit getting used to.









Audio:

The singular Dolby Atmos track is a treat as well, with a lot of sonic activity right from the get go. That sequence where Aurora sees her neighbor in action is a bass bomb, literally slamming you in the chest with LFE, only to get a bit softer for the majority of the film. But that being said, there’s more than a couple action instances where that wall shaking bass comes back in a big way. Surrounds and overheads are used copiously thanks to the constant rattling, moaning, and groaning of the floorboards as the dust bunny moves around. Add in some chaos from the city, bullets bouncing everywhere and general insanity, and you have a REALLY encompassing mix.














Extras:

• Making Dust Bunny
• Monster Craft
• Q&A Sizzle
• Cute to Cutthroat
• Mads Choreography Video
• Cast Explainers
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Dust Bunny is one of the most enjoyable surprises of the last year for me, and even though it suffers from a few flaws (mainly stretching a short story into feature length film and some oddities with the ending), I heartily loved this viewing experience. I personally feel that the film will reveal more and more with repeat viewings, and I look forward to digging into it once more. Lionsgate’s 4K UHD disc looks and sounds great, with a killer audio mix and a great 4K transfers that plays well to the fantasy elements (although the CGI dust bunny looks a bit weak). Extras are pretty fun, though not very plentiful. Personally, this is a film that really deserves to be checked out, even if you’re not into surrealistic fantasy.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian
Directed by: Bryan Fuller
Written by: Bryan Fuller
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core)
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 106 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 19th, 2026

Recommendation: Fun Watch