Dust Bunny will also crawl into theaters this holiday season and is Bryan Fuller’s first directed feature in a disturbing fusion of childhood innocence and psychological terror. With Mads Mikkelsen as a sinister neighbor and Sigourney Weaver in a key role, this grim A24 and Roadside Attractions production plunges into loss, retribution and the monsters we conjure in our imagination.
Debuting on the festival circuit to early lackluster reviews and a 7.0 IMDb user score, Dust Bunny opens in limited U.S. cinemas (still) tonight, also competing with Five Nights at Freddy’s2 while finding its own fan base of smart horror fans. Released on September 8, 2025 First official trailer filled with creepy imagery and spooky performances was quickly shared over the internet.
Plot: A Child’s Nightmare of Grief and Vengeance
Dust Bunny centers on Aurora (Sophie Sloan), a 10-year-old girl tormented by the fear that a monstrous beast hiding under her bed ate her family one stormy night. Alone and desperate, she turns to her reclusive neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen), unaware of his dark past. Together, they’ll go on a strange, surreal hunt to kill the monster who is tied to every person’s death in their town, an epic-hallucinatory journey into trauma and the otherworldly.
Fuller’s script, bearing his Hannibal sensibilities in its DNA, at once layers whimsical imagery like animated dust-creatures atop gut-wrenching discoveries of grief and manipulation. That playfulness develops into a haunting meditation on loss, building toward an emotionally fraught ending in the vein of The Witch and The Babadook but with Fuller’s unique voice for both the grotesque and the poetic.
Cast and Crew: A Powerhouse Horror Ensemble
| Actor | Role Highlights | Notable Insights |
| Mads Mikkelsen | Scheming neighbor aiding the child’s quest | A chilling duality echoing his Hannibal days |
| Sophie Sloan | Grieving ten-year-old Aurora | Breakout performance, emotionally commanding |
| Sigourney Weaver | Enigmatic figure from Aurora’s past | Brings maternal menace and gravitas |
| David Dastmalchian | Quirky supporting ally | Adds eccentric unease; The Suicide Squad alum |
| Sheila Atim & Rebecca Henderson | Supporting roles | Deepen the film’s psychological and supernatural tone |
Fuller directs with his signature visual artistry, supported by cinematographer David Mullen’s shadowy lensing and composer Brian Reitzell’s haunting score. Produced by Erica Lee (Barbarian), Dust Bunny is both technically polished and emotionally potent.
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The September 2025 trailer — a haunting 2:30 clip of whispering shadows and dust-filled dread — had racked up more than five million YouTube views within days. The poster, which featured a dust bunny gripping a child’s toy, became an instantly shareable meme and pre-festival TIFF 2025 previews came with descriptions that included “creeping emotional terror.”
The movie is scheduled to open in theaters in limited release Dec. 5, 2025 before rolling out internationally throughout the month. A digital/VOD release is expected by January 2026.
Online Reactions: The Hype Builds
The internet is abuzz in their discussion of the eerie symbolism behind Dust Bunny. Horror fans parse the trailer’s “dust as grief” metaphor on X (Twitter) and Reddit’s r/horror, while Letterboxd users call it “a little girl’s nightmare with big ideas.” Hashtags #DustBunnyMovie and #BryanFullerHorror remain in the trend, they are quite number of high expectations.
Despite mixed early critic ratings (40–50% on Rotten Tomatoes), audience reactions lean strongly positive—praising the emotional depth and Mikkelsen’s “Hannibal energy” in a grounded, grief-driven role.
Conclusion: Dust Bunny — A Whimsical Horror Awakening
When Dust Bunny creeps into theaters on December 5, 2025, expect a hauntingly original story where innocence meets insanity. Bryan Fuller’s ominous direction, Mads Mikkelsen’s manipulative seductiveness and Sigourney Weaver’s multilayered menace combine in this A24 chiller to recast the monster-under-the-bed myth for its audience. Dust Bunny is both gut-wrenching and deeply distressing, a film worth watching for anyone looking for smart, emotional horror amidst the blockbuster holiday fare.