For decades, Bryan Fuller has been one of the most distinctive voices in genre storytelling, from cult television hits like Hannibal and Pushing Daisies to his excellent upcoming big-screen directorial debut, Dust Bunny. At the Toronto International Film Festival, Fuller sat down with us to discuss the themes of the film, which also guide his work at large—monsters at home, gateway horror, and how a new generation continues to find themselves in his stories.
Dust Bunny is a horror-thriller/fantasy hybrid starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian, Rebecca Henderson, and Sophie Sloan. The film centers on Aurora, a ten-year-old girl who believes a monster under her bed has eaten her family and attempts to hire her mysterious hitman neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) to help kill the creature. Meanwhile, he must also face the possibility that some of the monsters might be human…
Sigourney Weaver and Bryan Fuller on the Dust Bunny red carpet
“Monsters at Home” in Dust Bunny
“I didn’t want to be too specific about monsters at home,” he tells us of the themes in Dust Bunny. “You don’t know how people are coming to the movie. I wanted it to be an interactive experience that allowed people to see as much of themselves in Aurora as they wanted to, and then have that conversation with themselves. I wanted there to be an escape, if that’s what they needed, rather than any kind of lesson. I don’t want to be medicine.
One of the things I loved about making the movie was having those ‘monster at home’ conversations with people on the crew. They’d come up and ask, ‘So, are you Aurora? How are you Aurora?’ And I’d be like, ‘What?’ Then someone else would say, ‘No, I thought you were Aurora’s dad, Madds.’ I’d laugh and say, ‘I never imagined myself as Madds in real life—but when you write, you put parts of yourself in every character.’”
The Importance of Gateway Horror
“I love gateway horror,” Fuller tells us when asked if Dust Bunny falls into that category. “I love Return to Oz. I love Gremlins. I love Poltergeist. I love that Amblin brand of horror. The Goonies, while not quite horror, is definitely a thriller. Those were the movies I grew up on, and I don’t really see them in the marketplace anymore—movies that are as much for kids as they are for adults, and that adults can enjoy just as much.
I watched The Goonies recently and thought, ‘This is fucking crazy. It’s wonderful.’ Movies like The Goonies, Gremlins, and Poltergeist were the ones I always looked forward to each summer.
Were they scary on purpose, or just weird movies that ended up freaking us out? I don’t know. I went to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as a kid and watched Mola Ram pull a guy’s heart out and set it on fire. I was like, ‘This is awesome.’
With Dust Bunny, I didn’t set out to make a horror film as much as I wanted the audience to feel what Aurora was feeling. I don’t think it’s scary enough to be a horror movie, but gateway horror is the perfect way to describe it. We talked about gateway horror a lot while developing it—it’s almost like gateway kung fu, gateway everything. It’s about opening the door.”
The Next Generation of Fuller Fans
So, out of all his iconic works, which series are the next generations of genre fans finding the fastest?
“Hannibal is the one that really seems to resonate with younger audiences, particularly Gen Z,” Fuller admits. “What’s interesting is that so many young women are drawn to the show and to the dynamics within it. It’s queer, but not necessarily sexualized.
A lot of kids today identify as asexual or don’t see themselves represented in how sex and sexuality typically appear in pop culture. For them, the non-sexual romance at the heart of Hannibal becomes almost like a safe space—a relationship they can connect to without the pressure of sexualization.
And of course, there’s Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen in the mix—no one’s complaining there.
What I’ve noticed is that women, especially, tend to appreciate the subtlety of that dynamic in a way that sometimes men don’t pick up on. It’s really about the romance, the friend-crush aspect that takes on new meaning the more people feel seen by it. When someone truly sees you—identifies you, accepts you—that’s the most romantic thing in the world. That’s hot.”
Check out the trailer for Dust Bunny:
Fuller’s reflections trace the connective tissue across his career: horror that welcomes as much as it unsettles, characters who mirror our own complexities, and stories that open doors for audiences of every age. With Dust Bunny, his long-awaited directorial debut, Fuller distills those ideas into something both intimate and imaginative.
I gave the film four stars when I reviewed it at its world premiere earlier this month, and audiences will soon get to decide for themselves when Dust Bunny creeps into theaters on December 5, courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.
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