Arachnophobes be warned! In theaters on April 12, 2024 through WellGo Entertainment, Sting is going to be a film that you will either want to place a glass over and eye nervously or a film that you will want to swat with a heavy object – warning there is a large eight legged creature in this!
With that out of the way, everyone else listen up. Written and directed by Australian filmmaker Kiah Roache-Turner (Wrymwood: Road of the Dead 2014, Nekrotronic 2018), Sting follows twelve year old Charlotte (Alyla Browne: Three Thousand Years of Longing 2022, True Spirit 2023) who lives in a New York City apartment block with her mother (Penelope Mitchell: Look Away 2018, Hellboy 2019), baby brother and stepfather Ethan (Ryan Corr: Where the Wild Things Are 2009, Hacksaw Ridge 2016). Obsessed with comic books, rebellious Charlotte feels isolated from the family after the arrival of her baby brother and has struggled to connect with Ethan even after they co-created a comic book together.
One night, as New York finds itself beset by a terrible snowstorm, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of Charlotte’s bedroom. From the object emerges an unusual spider who is discovered by Charlotte. With her mother and Ethan distracted, Charlotte adopts the spider as a pet, naming it Sting. She begins to feed it and communicate with it, and watches in fascination as Sting grows exponentially. But when other pets start to go missing and then people start dying, Charlotte has to face the reality that her pet might actually be a murderous and bloodthirsty monster.
Creature features are always fun, and they are even more fun when the creature is one as divisive as a spider. For some audiences even just the thought of a small house spider would be enough to evoke fear, whilst other audiences would shrug off the sight of a spider with nonchalance. Sting plays into this idea with Charlotte completely embracing the idea of a pet spider, even when that spider gets bigger and more concerning. This is a refreshing change from other creature features where the creature involved is simply horrifying to everyone from the start. This also means that the audience gets to see Charlotte’s evolution from pet owner to badass spider killer. Charlotte might be one of horror’s youngest final girls yet and that is great to see.
Visually the film makes effective use of a really dark color palette which reflects the idea that spiders thrive in dark places. Later the use of gore and practical effects also elevates the horror and overall the film is very strong visually. The cast is also strong with Brown being the standout – she could definitely be a future scream queen!
Where Sting gets slightly tangled in its own web is in the familial drama elements. It is not that these elements do not ring true or are not relatable because they are. However the majority of the running time is spent exploring these elements and building up to the final showdown. Horror fans may wish that there was even more spider action on show. It is also worth noting that there is a mid-credits scene so those that do find themselves caught up in Sting’s web may yet be treated to a sequel! All this considered, Cryptic Rock gives Sting 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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