Sting (2024) User Reviews

"Sting" is a satisfying creature feature with a surprising amount of comedy.

[nERDbOX_Dave · 6/10 · 12 April 2024]

"Sting" injects some welcome thrills into the creature feature subgenre, but with a twist: the heart of the film lies not in the monstrous spider itself, but in the strained family dynamic at its core.

We've seen plenty of arachnophobic nightmares come to life on screen before - "Arachnophobia" and "Eight Legged Freaks" come to mind. But "Sting" differentiates itself by focusing on Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old who finds solace in an unusual pet spider.

As the heartwarming bond between Charlotte and "Sting" forms, the creature, much like her anxieties, begins to grow at an alarming rate. The predictable tropes of missing pets and panicked neighbors soon unravel, revealing the true terror: a family on the brink of collapse.

The film's opening scene leaves little doubt about the monstrous path Sting is destined for. This might leave some viewers wanting more mystery, but it allows the focus to remain on the emotional journey of the characters.

Ultimately, "Sting" is a satisfying creature feature with a surprising amount of comedy. While predictable in its plot beats, it delivers effective scares and a touching family drama.

A Solid 7

[WooderIce64 · 7/10 · 11 April 2024]

Sting is a good, not great kind of movie. It's not bad, it's not spectacular. Sure, it has a lot of cliches and it's fairly predictable, but it makes up for it with some cool aspects. First off, the spider looks and sounds pretty good. As a creature feature, it works fairly well. A lot of it is set in the vents and air ducts of a Brooklyn brownstone, which is interesting but unfortunately underutilized. The claustrophobic setting generally does work pretty well. The kills are brutal, and it very much leans into the body horror subgenre (which is what disturbs me personally, so it was effective in that regard). Think back to middle school science class and imagine what you know spiders do to their prey, and now imagine that happening to people. That's what goes on in it. The effects are quite good. The characters are bland, tropey, and forgettable. But then again, are you seeing this movie for the characters or for the killer spider? There's a great tension-building atmosphere, and there are some pretty cool shots from the spider's perspective. The dialogue isn't the best, and every attempt at humor falls flat. It's a fine movie, nothing too special, but if you're the type of horror fan who's in it for those brutal kills, it has those.

Was a good one! Try to go in unaware

[yelrek · 7/10 · 14 April 2024]

This is a horror movie for sure, if you like horror movies I recommend this one. As the title says, I went into it without knowing very much and that was a good thing. I won't ruin that here. You know it's about a spider and a little girl, that much is from the cover. Is that spider good or bad, is the girl bad, are they friends, these are the things I had no idea about and kept it that way until I had a chance to see it in the theater. I would say this could probably wait for a streaming viewing or DVD/Blu-ray if that's still a thing. The special effects are good, but it's not the type of movie that warrants a larger screen than most people have in their homes these days. If you like horror, give this one a go and try not to read too much on it so you can be surprised as well. If not, it's still good and worth a watch. There is blood, there is some gore and it's a great time.

Sting is a fun addition to the horror genre, reminiscent of films like 8 Legged Freaks

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 13 April 2024]

I watched the new Australian film 🇦🇺 Sting (2024) in theaters last night. The story revolves around an alien comet crashing to Earth and landing in a nondescript house in New York City during a snowstorm, unleashing a spider that threatens the family and everyone around them.

This picture is written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood 1 & 2) and stars Alyla Browne (True Spirit), Tony Black, Jermaine Fowler (Sorry to Bother You), Silvia Colloca (Van Helsing) and Ryan Corr (Wolf Creek 2).

The movie exceeded my expectations. The special effects are top-notch, featuring impressive CGI, realistic corpses, and blood splatter. The film delivers plenty of creepy scenes along with a well-balanced infusion of comedy. Helga and Frank stand out as fantastic supporting characters, providing consistent laughs throughout. While some of the kills could have been more creative, once the action ramps up inside the house with the spider, it becomes a thrilling and enjoyable ride.

In conclusion, Sting is a fun addition to the horror genre, reminiscent of films like 8 Legged Freaks. I'd give it a solid 6.5-7/10 and strongly recommend it.

A Coming-of-Age Tale Wrapped in Arachnid Terror

[darkreignn · 6/10 · 14 April 2024]

I saw "Sting" in a mostly empty theatre; at first, it was just me, sitting towards the front, and a random man who decided to sit in the very back row. And then, as the movie was beginning to start, something unconscionable happened: a mother and her young daughter - no older than ten years old - walked in and sat in the same row I was sitting in. I was annoyed, yes, that out of every other empty seat those two decided to sit next to me, but I was also worried - could that young girl handle this supposedly gory and rated R horror film? As the lights dimmed and the film began, I braced myself for this mother and daughter duo to hurriedly exit the theatre at the first sight of blood. So I sat, started to watch, and before I knew it, something curious happened; "Sting," advertised as a violent slasher, surprisingly evolves into a sort of coming-of-age narrative, focusing on a young girl's journey to understand herself and her place in the world amidst the complexities of the people around her. And I realized that, maybe at the end of the day, this was the perfect film for a mother and her daughter to bond over.

Alyla Browne plays Charlotte, a young girl who, upon stumbling on a small spider, decides to keep it as a pet before discovering that, the more she feeds the little guy, the bigger it grows. And, in typical horror movie fashion, the bigger the spider grows, the hungrier it gets, and the more it wants to eat. And, as the star of the show, Alyla - armed with a water gun full of mothball water - will stop at nothing to hunt the spider down, save her family, and end its rain of terror. And amidst this chaotic ordeal, she also grapples with her relationship with her mother's new boyfriend, all while her biological father remains absent. Juggling familial drama and a battle against a giant spider, Alyla's character faces double the struggle... and now can you see why I said that this film turns into a coming-of-age tale?

"Sting" is not what you're expecting; heck, it certainly wasn't what I was expecting based on the brilliant first trailer that sold an eerie, stark horror setting akin to "Evil Dead Rise." Walking into the theatre I thought for sure that I'd be treated to a gross, gory film that would really let its premise run wild. And while there is a disturbing kill in the middle of the film that almost satisfied my increasing appetite for horror violence, after watching the film to its completion, I am almost getting the feeling that the shots of violence were afterthoughts because, as a whole, "Sting" is less a horror film and more of a children's thriller. And with that said, if you can brush off any initial disappointment that you might be feeling from that, there is some charm to be found here if you're willing to look for it.

Besides the occasional bloody image, and the aforementioned death scene, "Sting" is a tame and campy little tale that mostly focuses on Charlotte's familial drama, wrapped around this back drop of an ever-growing spider. Typically, this bait and switch would have annoyed me (and in ways, it kind of did, as I was really looking forward to an explicit, violent slasher), but where "Sting" succeeds is in its performances, specifically that of Alyla Browne. I can't recall if I've seen her act in anything before, but based on her performance here I hope that she works for years to come because, man, she was unbelievably good here. Where other child actors would over act, or overreact, Alyla always acted with pinpoint precision, never becoming unbelievable or embarrassing to watch as most child actors are. She was so good, in fact, that I started to become invested in the drama, more so than the horror. I enjoyed watching the bond between Charlotte and her mother's boyfriend, and when the relationship started to struggle, I wanted to see them mend their wounds and become a true family - and that's not something I expected to feel walking into a cheesy creature feature. However, if you find yourself walking into this cheesy creature feature, too, will you get what you're looking for? If you're purely looking for spider on human violence, unfortunately, you'll leave disappointed.

As much as I enjoyed watching Alyla's performance, I was still disappointed by the lack of blood and gore; I know that might make me seem a little bloodthirsty, but, I mean, in a movie about a giant spider terrorizing people in an apartment complex, can you blame me for wanting a little bit more action? Most of the spider's kills were offscreen teases instead of onscreen blood baths, with the singular and most disturbing kill taking place (I believe) midway through the film. It's a long wait to get to it, and afterward you're never treated to anything similar unless you count one burst of blood that could easily be fit into a PG-13 movie. And due to this lack of violence and focus on Charlotte, it truly feels like "Sting" was originally going to be more of a kid's film before, and for some reason, being turned into an R-rated horror flick. I'm not sure if this is the case, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.

At the end of the day, "Sting" isn't the slasher it advertises itself as, and honestly, it is barely a horror film. Due to the dismal audience reviews, I can see that many were led astray by the film's marketing - as was I. However, the performance of Alyla Browne managed to draw me into the plot that the film was presenting; additionally, the movie does look really good, and the spider is appropriately creepy if you are phobic, as I am. And so, "Sting" is just an average little thriller that's fun enough for a late night watch, only elevated by the strength of its actors. If it really leaned in on its premise and became a full blown slasher then I could see it becoming a cult classic. As it stands the way it is, though, I can see it becoming an introductory horror film for curious young viewers, as it may have been for the mother and her daughter who walked in during my screening.

Take your family & friends !

[warturtle-18664 · 7/10 · 15 April 2024]

I think it's a good watch, definitely a hidden gem like some are saying on here .

The plot was great -the story telling here was different and I enjoyed that. I like how it wasn't a syfy rip off using some old story,it's new and fresh. A meteor is different and I thought that itself was a cool idea to introduce the threat here .

I loved the one graphic kill that we did get...I love horror moves with gore. So when I seen that it traumatized me but it also made me enjoy & get more invested in the movie . Wish we got more like that but that one was good enough for now. Hopefully there is a sequel so we can get something bigger, better.

Charlotte's web of deceit backfires

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 11 April 2024]

Greetings again from the darkness. The trailer for this one makes it clear that it's a monster movie in the vein of those Friday late night creature-features I stayed up watching as a kid ... whenever I wasn't grounded from watching TV. Australian filmmaker Kiah Roche-Turner has set this one in Brooklyn and it takes place almost entirely inside an old apartment building (the only exceptions are shots of the ice storm occurring outside).

Roche-Turner may have delivered the latest creature-feature, however, it's not one of those that inspires empathy towards the creature. Twelve-year-old Charlotte (get it??) is on one of her adventures through the air vents of the old building when she captures a little black spider. A pet spider may be uncommon, but keeping secrets from your mother, Heather, (Penelope Mitchell, HELLBOY, 2009) and stepdad, Ethan, (Ryan Corr, THE WATER DIVINER, 2014) is right in line with the actions of an adolescent frustrated by the responsibilities of having to watch her newborn brother while the frazzled adults go about earning a living.

The film's opening shows Charlotte's sweater-knitting grandmother, Helga (Noni Hazelhurst, TRUTH, 2015), battling dementia and calling the exterminator after hearing loud noises in the wall. The story then flashes back four days to when Charlotte first finds the spider. Frank (Jermaine Fowler, RICKY STANICKY, 2024) sprays the building, but even as a pest expert, he doesn't suspect what's about to happen. Relative newcomer Alyla Brown (TRUE SPIRIT, 2023) performs superbly as Charlotte, and is stunned when the pet spider she names Sting mimics her whistle when it's due for another meal of crunchy bugs, which leads to exponential growth.

Although it's not necessary, there are additional elements to the story that occur around the whole rapidly-growing spider. Charlotte's stepdad is the building super and an aspiring comic book artist. In an effort to bond with her, Ethan illustrated the story she created about her biological father, whose deadbeat nature mother Heather has withheld from her. Their neighbors consist of lonely widow Maria (Siliva Colloca, VAN HELSING, 2004) and oddball science geek Erik (Danny Kim, "Born to Spy"), the latter of whom exposes Charlotte's clandestine arachnid pet to the parents. The final player here is frugal and grumpy Gunther (Robyn Nevin, RELIC, 2020), who apparently owns the building and lives with her sister Helga. Ms. Nevin has a face made for horror films (and I mean that as a compliment) and gets to go full out in her one big scene with Ethan.

As you'd expect, some of these folks meet a grisly end, while others are more fortunate. There are enough kills for those that lust for such moments, and enough creepiness and chuckles for everyone else. It does take a while for the arachnid rampage to begin, but there's enough suspense to keep us around. Most will appreciate Brad Shield's cinematography as the camera worms it's way through the claustrophobic hallways and air ducts of the building. The origins of the spider might be missed by those who aren't paying close attention, but it's a brilliant touch. And even though it's a bit of campy horror, the dayglo red used in the fake blood is among the worst you'll likely ever see. The film is quite a bit different from the 1990 cult classic ARACHNOPHOBIA, but the lesson in keeping moth balls on hand could someday come in handy. Over the opening credits, "What a Way to Die" by The Pleasure Seekers acts as a foreshadowing of events, and in keeping with the film's title, there are a couple of "stingers" for those who stick around.

Opening in theaters on April 12, 2024.

New spider horror is unfortunately more stuck in a messy web.

[movieman6-413-929510 · 3/10 · 28 April 2024]

Sting is a new horror film created and written by Kiah Roache-Turner, the director of the Wyrmwood films 12-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne) finds a special spider and secretly eats it. During this education she learns that the spider is very intelligent, but is also becoming increasingly hungry and small insects are soon no longer enough for the spider.

As the spider begins to develop a taste for other animals and even humans, Charlotte learns that the spider is too dangerous to maintain. She has to stop the spider before it tries to eat too many people and animals.

After his more indie zombie and demon movie, Kiah Roache-Turner is now trying to make a monster movie about a scary induced spider, which is starting to become more and more dangerous. Before the spider really threatens to pose a major threat, he makes the film more about a family drama. Here, Charlotte must learn to cope with a stepfather and a new baby, while beginning to feel less important. That is why she starts a "friendship" with this intelligent spider, but in the beginning there are so few interesting events in the film to keep you as a viewer interned in the film. Later, when the spider starts to get bigger, a little more happens, but not enough, to really make the movie better.

The film is also somewhat reminiscent of a simple copy of the 1979 film Alien, but with a less original story and interesting characters. Furthermore, this film is also somewhat reminiscent of the monster film Eight Legged Freaks, a more horror-comedy about an invasion of large spiders. This was more of a horror comedy filled with cheesy humor, which is often found in more parody comedy films. With Sting she seems to try to keep it more like a real horror film with scary or bloody horror moments. Yet there are moments and characters in the film that seem to come more from a parody horror comedy. This can make the film seem unbalanced.

Compared to Eight Legged Freaks, the spider in this film comes across well, because it is often more in the shadows, so that the CGI with which it is placed in the film is not so noticeable. When the spider has a large size, it appears less programming and the CGI is more noticeable.

Alyla Browne gives a nice performance as a girl who increasingly begins to feel lonely after changes in her family life. Her character is just not that interesting in the film, she often wants to follow things on her phone or share them on social media. It seems that after the spider starts to become more bloodthirsty, they can no longer really take responsibility for the spider's actions. The other characters are also not very well developed or interesting to follow.

Top Teir Horrof Film!

[subxerogravity · 6/10 · 15 April 2024]

It's like someone made Little Shop of Horrors meets Aliens or rather that's what it reminds me of. I was expecting a very low grade horror movies and in a lot of ways that's exactly what it is, but the filmmakers did such a good job of putting it together that it just made for one of the best I've seen this year.

The monster itself was excellent. Just scary as hell and monstrous to boot. I feel like it was all about what needed to be show and what particular time and what did not and they did it with perfection.

Not much to say but to say it's definitely worth your time to see sting. Was not expecting much but got so much.

Below average across the board

[FeastMode · 3/10 · 6 April 2024]

I watched Sting early as part of AMC's Screen Unseen. I knew absolutely nothing about the movie. But I'm someone who loves creature features and watches most theatrically-released horror flicks. I also love spiders. Spider-man is my favorite superhero. I've seen nearly every (mostly terrible) spider-related movie (Eight Legged Freaks, Arachnophobia, Big Ass Spider!, etc). The spider gremlin is the coolest one of the Gremlins series.

The reason I say all this is to illustrate that it should've been easy for me to like this. Even if it wasn't "good," I would have been fine with something entertaining and fun. But every aspect of this movie is underwhelming.

This includes the cast, the performances and the characters (aside from the daughter). The dialogue is weak. The comedy isn't funny enough. The scares aren't scary enough. It's more boring than fun.

But the worst is the lack of spider. I estimate 30 seconds of total screen time. I'm not exaggerating. And I understand the concept of keeping the creature hidden to add suspense. But 30 seconds just isn't enough. And I'm confident this has to do with budgetary limitations. But that excuse won't stop creature feature fans from feeling entirely unsatisfied.

(1 viewing, early screening Screen Unseen 3/25/2024)

Hidden gem

[rjhamm-50234 · 8/10 · 13 April 2024]

Hidden gem I suppose, considering we were the only ones in the theater on opening night.

It's a good watch.

As someone with arachniphobia, I've never been truly terrified watching other spider monster movies.

This movie made me jump, frequently.

The characters are well written, characters you want to root for.

If they happen to write a sequel, yeah I'd buy tickets to watch it and I don't really like theaters.

Give it a try, no good reason we were the only viewers in the theater.

Unsure why this movie wasn't marketed more. Perhaps they want to be considered a hidden gem?

Good job crew. :)

Giant cliche

[lord_orsum · 6/10 · 3 May 2024]

Don't get me wrong, I had fun watching this film. But it is so "by the numbers" that it almost defies belief.

So...apartment block in winter, during blizzard, alien spider which grows at an impossible rate. Cue various gory deaths (but only of characters that deserve it) and a battle for survival using wits and whatever comes to hand. But the monster has a vital weakness which can be exploited.

In many ways, I felt like I was watching a 1950s B-movie. The plot was so generic, so predictable, so cliched, that it was like an old pair of comfortable slippers. And that is not always a bad thing.

Didn't enjoy this.

[AfricanBro · 3/10 · 10 April 2024]

The movie's not great, I wasn't surprised I'd never heard of it once it started. The asteroid scene was so bad, looked like graphics from the 90's or an old video game. I was literally in shock I wanted to laugh. The goo made it feel like you were about to watch ghostbusters, but maybe that's because I just watched that recently. Didn't feel scary at all, and didn't do great at building up tension or suspense throughout the movie. Exterminator was acting like he's the Terminator when he wasn't being funny. The movie isn't mad hilarious, the laughs aren't that memorable; but it was funnier than it was scary. It almost felt like a bad parody at times. I think there's a credit scene, I heard it start playing but I was already halfway out the theatre and the movie wasn't good enough to warrant me turning back. But some people went back, so I'm assuming they enjoyed the movie. I didn't hate it enough to regret going to see it, but it's not a movie I'd recommend.

A wholly missed opportunity of a creature feature

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 12 April 2024]

Living in a cramped apartment, a teenager and her broken family trying to blend together with their new relationships find themselves under attack by what was initially thought to be a pet spider only to discover it's actually a ravenous alien being and must try to stop it before it takes over.

Overall, this was a decidedly decent if somewhat underwhelming creature feature. Among the positives here is the genuinely chilling atmosphere of the setup as the location allows this one to play nicely with the imagery of the concurrent phobia surrounding the situation. Knowing full well the idea of the massive, mutated spider is a creepy one, this one takes on the rampaging spider in the darkened hallways and ducts of an apartment complex trapped in with a raging snowstorm, this one creates a nice bit of fun in the last act when it goes for some rather solid confrontations with the creature. As there's plenty of fantastic stalking scenes offering the massive creature stalking residents throughout the complex emerging out of the shadows to spin massive deadly webbing, inject them with deadly venom, or other debilitating antics that provide plenty of fun and chills. With the practical effects-driven sequences letting this have some great kills due to this section of the film, it makes for a lot to like and lifts this up the most. That said, this one is somewhat flawed and problematic. One of the main issues here is the immensely underwhelming first half where the entire first half here is spent on nothing interesting with all the focus on their strained family dynamic. The issues at play here with the daughter trying to bond with the new stepfather and failing, the husband and wife trying to raise a mixed family in a cramped, falling-apart apartment, and the bizarre cast of characters living in the building with them creates a wholly effective starting point but just goes on way too long to the point the storylines border on cliche. The well-meaning stepfather who can't do anything right, the moody teenager who does things to endanger others but doesn't care because her attraction outweighs common sense, and kooky dialog for the sake of kooky dialogue keep this so sluggish and bland it's hard to stay invested here. Given that the spider hardly ever appears and doesn't do much of anything until the final half makes this stand out even more, and the whole effect manages to stand out enough here to hold this down.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, infants in danger, and violence-against-animals.

Pretty decent

[mihaistaninxs · 7/10 · 23 April 2024]

The fourth long movie from the director of the zombie apocalypse: "Wyrmwood"!

"Sting" is a decent little horror flick about a spider from outer space who is "in the care" of a little 12 years old girl named: Charlotte!

She named the spider: Sting (obviously) and soon she realized the little thing starts to grow in size and to do bad things.

The acting is decent, some cool special effects with some good camera work.

Pretty gross scenes and some blood and gore.

The ones who are afraid of spiders will enjoy this bcz yeah: thats the point of this movie with a spider: to be scary and gross for the ones who hate these arachnoids. Go and see the movie, go and defeat your fear of spiders and enjoy this little horror! It's pretty decent!

shrug..

[JK-WhatsUpWeirdoPodcast · 5/10 · 15 April 2024]

I kinda feel like this one didn't know what it was. It's labeled as straight forward horror and rated R but then the first few mins are like horror comedy? But not much throughout? I do really like how it was directed, it has a charm, like a Tales From The Crypt or Creepshow episode.

Negatives: Plays very juvenile for an R movie, CGI (but did come through with some practical effects eventually), Animals/pets die :( cardinal sin of movies.

Positives: The family's acting was good, Beginning credits/egg very good, All the alt posters for the movie were neat, Frank the exterminator was hands down best part of movie.

Annoying

[greenranger-45849 · 3/10 · 29 April 2024]

Child protagonist is infuriating and brain dead.

It's literally a James Wan rip off from atmosphere and cinematography but instead of demons and what not it's a spider.. Oh wow how creative. That goes for the girls name as well "Charlotte" Ohhhhh soo witty wow..

It's suppose to be a dark comedy? How? The whacky absurd cartoon neighbours that live in the building? The exterminator? The pets dying? Oh and the pets dying.. My god.. No one wants to see pets die for gods sake. They did an Eight Legged Freaks and strongly establish they are pets in the movie and you think oh piss off here we go.. Yep the pets die, and the weird Asian neighbour feeds rabbits to the spider as well.. So funny.. Ha ha.. Kill the stupid humans please not the pets lol

I'm an Australian, this is an Australian production and there's no wonder why there aren't any Australian characters in this movie.. It would be over instantly.

We would deal with that spider so fast, for one everyone doesn't know the species but ahh.. It's a Red Back spider.. Well it's an Alien Spider but has the appearance of a Red Back.. Us Aussies would be like yeah put that bugger down and don't keep it as a pet.. A Red Back in New York as well? Well that's suspicious time to squash this suss spider mate.

But if it's an Alien Spider why did the film makers make it look exactly like a Red Back? Is Australia not a thing in this universe? Are we from another planet and that's where the meteorite thing that the spider was in came from?

Just such a missed opportunity all round. The exterminator guy completely useless character doesn't offer anything doesn't even know the insects or arachnids he's suppose to exterminate.. Doesn't even question it when Charlotte shows him the spider it's just a cheap jump scare and he goes on his way.

No real dive into the spiders origin or anything.

No real scientist character to explore things which is needed in a move like this, only the weird serial killer vibe Asian neighbour who again doesn't offer anything useful just yeah "Spiders don't have vocal cords" cool.. We all know spiders can't mimic things and talk. Good insight.

Going for a claustrophobic building setting James Wan clone but a spider instead was a bad move.. Why not make it like the Blob but a spider instead? They had so many avenues to choose from and explore and this is what they did?

Mundane scenes with the family that go nowhere and drag along. It gets so boring then boom a pet dying scene.. Gets mundane drags along the boom a pet dies like wtf? This is so lame and cheap and a big F you to the film makers and many other film makers who think animals dying is funny.. Nah sorry kill the humans who are annoying and stupid pls.

I don't know, I'm extremely disappointed, drunk and quite annoyed at this.. Haha modern movies are slowly going to kill me they keep getting worse and worse.. They don't make them like they used to :(

Message in a Meteor

[stevendbeard · 8/10 · 13 April 2024]

I saw Sting, starring Alyla Browne-The Secret Kingdom, Three Thousand Years of Longing; Ryan Corr-The Secrets She Keeps_tv, Hacksaw Ridge; Penelope Mitchell-Hellboy_2019, The Vampire Diaries_tv and Jermaine Fowler-Coming 2 America, The Eric Andre Show_tv.

This is an Australian horror movie and not an autobiography of the lead singer of the Police-I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. A small meteor crashes into an apartment building, releasing a small spider-maybe it was a space ship? Alyla finds the spider and turns it into a pet named Sting-named after a sword from her favorite book, The Hobbit. I know, it's a little weird for a pet but she has had a rough time lately. Her father abandoned the family and Ryan is Alyla's new step dad that is married to her mother, Penelope. Ryan is a comic book artist and works as the building maintenance man in his spare time. Alyla discovers that whenever she feeds Sting, he grows at an astonishing rate-it doubles it's size in hours. Of course, when it gets too big, it goes in search of more food, such as pets and then eventually, people. Jermaine is the exterminator they call for assistance. The arachnid also has some other little talents, such as imitating vocal sounds-which comes in handy while it's searching for food. There are 2 scenes as the end credits start but nothing at the very end.

It's rated R for violence, bloody images and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 31 minutes.

I enjoyed it and would buy it on DVD.

What a wasted opportunity

[scottkolflat · 2/10 · 17 April 2024]

The best part of this movie was the first few minutes, but it's a rocket slide downhill after that. I literally can't think of one redeeming thing about this movie. Everything about it is mediocre at best, but its glaring flaws ruin any possibility of getting a higher rating than two. The characters are annoying and unlikable. All of them. There's not one character in this movie that has any relatable qualities. The "dad" isn't likable. The daughter is insufferable. The mom is.... there? The exterminator, I guess, is supposed to be some kind of comic relief, but he isn't funny at all, like ever. You almost never see the spider, even at the end, you can barely make out any distinguishing features. The body count is abysmally small. It's not scary in the least. The acting is mid. The writing is terrible. It's barely even an hour and a half long, so it even barely qualifies as a movie. I literally couldn't wait for it to end, but I was hoping, at least, I would get to see something terrible happen to the family, but the movie couldn't even do that. I feel sorry for anyone who sees this and I hope the rest of your year goes better for you. We all deserve better than this.

A very choppy tone hurts it a lot

[jtindahouse · 5/10 · 28 April 2024]

I had a few issues with 'Sting', but one of the biggest ones was that it never settled on a tone. After the first scene I thought to myself, okay they're going full blown horror/comedy - I don't love that but if it commits to it it could work. But then the film started taking itself very seriously for a while. Then it would jump back into light-hearted funny mode again. And this continued throughout the runtime of the film. I never felt like I knew what it was going for and I don't think the film itself did either.

My other main gripe comes in the form of a spoiler, so I can't go into it in too much detail. All I can say is I didn't particularly like how the ending of the film was handled. Had it gone a different, more daring route I feel like a lot of the past indiscretions could have been more easily forgiven.

The film has its good points too. There was a child actor who got a lot of screen time and I didn't find overly annoying. The CGI also looks really good for the most part. It's almost impossible to make an over-sized spider look in any way realistic, but it certainly looked a lot better than they did back in the 'Eight Legged Freaks' days. It is quite a dark film too which probably helps to cover any imperfections up a little.

This film is harmless fun for the most part. But it's less daring than I would've liked it to be and it would've done well to settle on a particular genre blend and commit to that. 5/10.

Surprisingly well-made; My favorite new horror film this year!

[kafushoda · 9/10 · 13 April 2024]

Did not expect to like this film but here I am! Overall I felt this was an unexpectedly decent, cool creature monster movie with a decent family plot story on the side.

My favorite parts and overall summary:

-Awesome cinematography and camera shots and camera movements. I was impressed by how immersed I felt at times. This didn't just happen once or twice but multiple times throughout the film.

-Characters! This is something you'll be surprised some horror movies don't put effort in. But this film had the characters and you can tell there was care by the writers into the characters. Character building, character development, and ultimately character caring, in where you do care for the characters as the film goes.

-The plot: is actually engaging and it was not a slow burner film like tens of other horror films I've seen in the years 2022-2024 and been put to boredom to.

Some cons I would say are some humorous moments felt out of place at just a few times, but luckily this film wasn't riddled with them. Also this film overall isn't a jump scare film, which I appreciated, but the 1-2 attempts they did try could have been better and more effective. A last con I'd add is that some certain elements of the ending felt contrived.

Anyways, overall I surprisingly really liked this film! I felt it was well-made. It's my favorite gem so far this year. And I'm actually convinced to get a pet spider for my new apartment now.

Definitely worth a watch!

[dbsoundcheck · 10/10 · 13 April 2024]

I went to this on opening night and I was the only person in the theatre. I am not surprised as I had only found out about this movie through searching Google for new movie releases.

I can see how it may not be liked by some but I really enjoyed it. I found that there was enough character building to keep me invested without overdoing it. Another reviewer mentioned that there was only 30 seconds of screen time for Sting without exaggeration. It was for that reason I almost didn't go to see this and I'm glad I ignored it as it WAS a total Exaggeration! I loved Eight Legged Freaks and Arachnophobia. This movie was not as good as those but it was still good and much better than you would find on Netflix these days. I also loved the nods to Arachnophobia.

This is not a perfect movie, but for me it checked all the boxes. Realistically, I want to be entertained by a movie and this one did not let me down. I really wish they did a better job with the marketing. If there was a sequel I would not hesitate to buy a ticket.

Fun Premise, Great Set Up and the Right Amount of Camp

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 8/10 · 29 April 2024]

This was a movie that I knew was coming out, but not when. I saw a review was out from a local critic, who I respect their opinion on horror films. It was one on the list to keep an eye out for. Since I don't watch trailers, I didn't know if this was following a spider or a snake. Regardless, I got to go to the Gateway Film Center to check it out.

Synopsis: after raising an unnervingly talented spider in secret, 12-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne) must face the facts about her pet and fight for her family's survival when the once-charming creature rapidly transforms into a giant, flesh-eating monster.

Now this starts in a way that I'm not always a fan. It jumps in the middle of things going on. Helga (Noni Hazlehurst) hears something in her vents and walls. We see that she has dementia or Alzheimer's. There is a note on the wall by the phone that says her name and address. She is called Frank (Jermaine Fowler) who is an exterminator. The page in the phonebook is earmarked so this isn't the first time. I should say here that he knows this building and that there is also a horrible winter storm.

We then shift days into the past to show us what led there. Charlotte uses the vent system of this rundown apartment building to get around. Her grandmother is Helga and she lives with her sister, Gunter (Robyn Nevin). This one owns the building and she's cheap, so everything is in disrepair. There is also an infestation of cockroaches. We saw prior to this girl sneaking into the room, a tiny meteor breaking through a window and landing in the dollhouse. It hatches a spider. Charlotte finds it and takes it with her, making it a pet that she names Sting. I'll come back to this.

Also living in this building is Charlotte's mother, Heather (Penelope Mitchell). She is seeing Ethan (Ryan Corr) and they have a son together. There is tension here as Ethan isn't Charlotte's dad. He loves her though and she feels similar back. They're working on a comic book together. There is friction here as one of the characters is based on her real father who she adores. He isn't showing up for her though. Also in the building is Maria (Silvia Colloca), who we get the idea that her family died and she's all alone with her dog. There's also Erik (Danny Kim), an odd biology student doing experiments with fish, as well as the two sisters. Ethan serves as the building's super.

Charlotte puts Sting in a jar and feeds it cockroaches. We see that it is more intelligent than any spider should be. It mimics a sound that Charlotte makes, ensuring that it knows when feeding time is. We see when she sleeps, that it can open its jar. It goes to Gunter's room and kills her parrot. It doesn't stop there. It continues to get bigger and sets itself on larger prey, the humans living in this building.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Now as I said, coming in I knew that this was going to be an animal attack movie. Confirming that it was a spider ahead of seeing this, I was wondering how they were going to use this idea. Being that it comes from space, which is all I needed to know for this to work. I don't know if this is given in the trailer, but we learn this within the first 15 minutes of the movie. Another thing to set up here, the title has a double meeting. This spider uses a sting to inject venom, but its name also comes from the sword in The Hobbit to kill a spider. It doesn't necessarily fit. It still works though.

Let me then shift over to talking about this family dynamic. This is where the heart of the movie comes from. Charlotte is in a tough spot. Children that are in this position their parents break up also do. She loves Ethan, but he's still not her biological father. He doesn't think he's doing a good job and still learning. Heather points out true indicators that she does care. He still doesn't know. There are little comments made between Ethan and Heather about him caring more about the infant, since that is his biological child. This creates tension as stress mounts on Ethan. That causes him to lash out. It doesn't help that Gunter is rude to him and everyone else. There's also the added stress of Helga as well.

I think then I should get back over to what everyone is watching this for, this spider killing people. First though, I love that we're in this rundown apartment building. That gives us cannon fodder in other apartments. There is also this large vent system so Sting can move between floors and rooms with ease. I even like that it sets up that Charlotte does this before the spider even comes into the picture. Then we have this horrible winter storm so we are trapping our characters inside. They can't leave. It is interesting that the way this spider acts is in the normal range by creating webs, liquifying its victims and eating them while they're alive. That is terrifying. We are then giving it supernatural abilities being from space where it grows faster than it should and can mimic sounds. That also made this scary. My only issue here is that this comes off campy. Part of that is just the concept. This doesn't ruin it by any stretch, but just wanted to warn you.

Where I think I'll go next is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good here to set up this apartment building. There's almost a labyrinth vibe to it with the duct system and the basement. Also, that creates places where Sting can hide victims who are trapped in webs. What is good there is that it continues to hunt, even when it has captured people. It doesn't want them to get away, which is good. Let's shift to the effects. CGI is used to bring this spider to life. When it is tiny, that makes sense. What I'll say is that this looks fine. They don't linger on it, which works in its favor. That makes it harder to critique. I love using the frame where we see it in the background, blurry before our characters do. I'm a fan there. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack was fine. This did good things with sound design, especially Sting mimicking things, which is messed up in the best way possible as we get deeper into this.

All that is left is acting. I like Browne as our lead. We see that things are confusing and tough when you're a young teen like she is. She starts feeding Sting, which I can't blame her. This makes her feel bad though as it gets larger. Corr is good as her stepfather. I feel bad for him and the stress that he goes through trying to make things work. Mitchell is good as our mother and significant other. She loves Ethan, but her children are her focus. Nevin works as this 'slumlord'. Hazlehurst creates issues with her mental state. Kim and Colloca are good as tenants. I also like Fowler as this exterminator. The acting here isn't great, but it creates quirky characters that feel real.

In conclusion, I thought this was a fun film. It feels like it is borrowing from The Giant Spider Invasion, just on a smaller and contained scale. We get a solid group of characters. They are trapped in a good setting, ramping up tension since they can't leave due to the winter storm. Then from there, I love the idea of this spider growing large and attacking them. This is well made. They needed to go CG, but it looks good enough. There is emotion underneath that helped me. This also stressed me out at a pivotal scene, so credit there. This could be too campy for people, but I enjoyed my time here. I'd recommend it if what I said sounds good.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Bite me

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 21 April 2024]

No pun intended - I wonder if the all the things in Australia are out of this world? Well the director did suggest that he knows that his home country has a lot of things that are trying to kill you - still want to go on vacation to Australia? Actually all kidding aside, the big cities will not be an issue - I reckon the things that Americans or Europeans are afraid of ... are in other areas of Australia.

But this is set in America - and maybe the "spider" flew over from Australia ... actually it seems to have a different origin ... not that we ever get to know the origin of this .. let's call it what it is: Alien.

And no pun intended with this either by the way. A great set of characters, some beautiful (read vicious) effects ... and a movie that seems to not take any prisoners ... it's feeding time!

Nifty sci-fi horror film with eerie f/x.

[george.schmidt · 8/10 · 24 April 2024]

STING (2024) *** Ayla Browen, Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell, Jermaine Gowler, Noni Hazlehurst, Robyn Nevin, Danny Kim, Siliva Colloca. Spooky horror film about an alien spider that is befriended by a young girl (an excellent Browen) upon its crash-landing in a snowy Brooklyn that eventually grows into a voracious monster stalking her apartment building with dreadful results. Filmmaker Kiah Roache-Turner creates a truly dark and eerie film with a storyline involving a loving family facing their own limitations as well as some inventive camerawork by Brad Shield and gnarly make-up by John Logue. Fun and scary.