Hippity-hoppity, the Dust Bunny on its way.
The NYC apartment complex the hitman and girl live in has yellow walls and aqua stairs with snakes painted on them. That’s in the daytime, and at night, it’s all in aqua, blue, and green. It looks and feels like something out of Jean Pierre Jeunet, and elements of “Dust Bunny” might remind some movie-goers of the French filmmaker’s earlier films like “Delicatessen” or “The City of Lost Children.” But the colors might also remind people of Wes Anderson and Edgar Wright films. And it works either way.
But from standpoint, it’s a better horror movie of its kind than “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.” It’s another one with a little girl as the main heroine, and a CGI monster that knows when to strike. And this one is R-rated, so you know there are going to be some risks. I doubt they’ll take my advice on this film, especially when it’s released by a smaller studio in select locations, but if you do, you might appreciate its combination of children’s fantasy with assassins. Especially if it’s directed by Brian Fuller (the creator of “Pushing Daisies” and the “Hannibal” series) and produced by Basil Iwanyk (the John Wick” movies).
The little girl I’m talking about is named Aurora (newcomer Sophie Sloan), and she is so afraid of the monster under her bed, that she can’t touch her floor. In fact, she has to make a makeshift boat out of a giant hippo in order to get to the kitchen. This monster might be a dust bunny. Literally, those dust bunnies form a giant dust bunny. And this giant bunny, as CGI as he looks, is not as fun as Wallace and Gromit made it out to be 20 years ago, especially if it ate her parents. This giant has a bite appetite, with menacing vibes as in “Deep Blue Sea” or “Death of a Unicorn.”
One night, she follows her neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) to Chinatown and catches him fighting a group of people and some of which wear a dragon costume, which she thinks is real. So, she steals money from a church to ask for his services in killing the dust bunny. In reality, this man is the hitman I’ve mentioned above. He explains to her his job: taking out bad people. And at this point, he shall be known as “Intriguing Neighbor.”
With her parents dead, she also has the hitman pretending to be her father when a social worker (Sheila Atim) arrives at her home. But he knows she’s not really a social worker. And she worries the man will abandon her, but he tells her he never agreed to anything. Besides, not only does he not believe in the monster that ate her parents, but he also can’t say her name right. But she’s prepared to tell him: “I told you so,” when it comes.
At one point early in the film, there’s a scene worthy of a Quentin Tarantino movie. It takes place in a church, where they’re singing the Lord’s Prayer, and the background is in bright yellow, and everyone is wearing different colored shirts. And it sounds like something out of Jefferson Airplane.
We also see the assassin meeting his handler (Sigourney Weaver), who dresses up based on the theme of the restaurant she’s at. For example, in a flowery place, she wears a flower dress. When she finds out the little girl is in his presence, the handler tries to be reasonable with him about his methods, and warns him that he can’t help her. And she also has guns that look like high heeled shoes, so you know she means business in a Tarantino sense.
It can sometimes be a little annoying and cliched, but other times, it can use the styles and fantasies when it needs them. And “Dust Bunny” knows when to strike. We could comment on whether or not CGI effects are so common in movies these days, or we could stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes. Obligatory “Matrix” pun.
In Select Theaters This Friday
