‘Dust Bunny’ confronts the monster under the bed

Mads Mikkelsen stars in ‘Dust Bunny.’ (Roadside Attractions)

The scariest monsters may not be from your imagination in the new film Dust Bunny. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, who plays a contract killer who takes a job from a young girl (Sophie Sloan) who believes her parents were eaten by a monster under her bed.

Dust Bunny, which also stars Sigourney Weaver and David Dastmalchian, takes place in a world of ultra-stylish street gangs. Mikkelsen says the film’s heightened world allowed him more freedom as a performer.

“I’m being enlightened every day, and I’m learning something new about my character every day,” Mikkelsen tells ABC Audio.

The movie marks the feature directorial debut of Bryan Fuller, who previously worked on the show Hannibal with Mikkelsen. Fuller says he enjoyed working in a different medium because it allowed him to be closer to the cast and crew.

“And what was wonderful about doing the movie for the first time I got to be present in the experience with the cast and the department heads in a way that felt so much more intimate,” Fuller said.

Mikkelsen also says the trust he formed with Fuller over Hannibal’s three-season run was crucial.

“You have to rely on, obviously on what Bryan’s doing,” says Mikkelsen. “Like, OK, I’m wearing weird pajamas in this fighting scene — so be it!”

Dust Bunny exists in a world of both real and imagined monsters, and Fuller and Mikkelsen say both types of experiences contributed to the creative process.

“The scariest thing for me as a kid was my dad, honestly, so that’s hard to beat in terms of childhood fears,” says Fuller.

“I got to see [John Carpenter’s Halloween] a little too early for my age,” says Mikkelsen. “So that haunted me for a while.”