On June 13, the arachnophobic horror film «Sting», in which the characters will have to confront a huge bloodthirsty spider. In the review below, we will tell you how scary it is to watch this action and what other emotions the film can evoke.
Pluses:
in its best moments, the film looks fascinating; good use of practical special effects and techniques «deep mise-en-scene»; a well-realized spider-monster;
Minuses:
the script is split into unnecessary family relationships and comedic moments; the pacing of the narrative is blatantly uneven;
«Sting»
Genre horror movie
Director Kiah Roach-Turner
Starring Ryan Corr, Alila Brown, Penelope Mitchell, Robin Nevin, Sylvia Collock, Danny Kim, Jermaine Fowler, Tony J. Black
Premiere movie theaters
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
Hollywood movie characters keep all sorts of things as pets. In «Terminator» Sarah Connor’s friend Ginger had a cute iguana named Pugsley at home. The «Gremlins» featured a fantastic mogwai creature. And in «Mr. Popper’s Penguins», Jim Carrey had a whole flock of penguins. It appears that the heroine of the new horror movie «Sting» has surpassed many of its predecessors in this regard.
One day, 12-year-old Charlotte discovers a small spider in her grandmother’s apartment. She enthusiastically puts it in a jar and names it Sting (not Bodka — and thank God for that). While feeding her new pet defenseless cockroaches, the young researcher witnesses how her pet (or rather, her pet) grows rapidly.
For a while, the girl enjoys the way Sting deftly deals with his doomed victims. But this contemplative idyll comes to an end when Charlotte and her family turn into potential dinner for the voracious arachnid.
If last week Netflix tried to scare viewers with a giant shark in a horror «Under Paris», now the viewer is faced with an overgrown spider. It is obvious that the French horror owes its existence to Spielberg’s «Jaws», and among the sources of inspiration for the creators of «Sting» is clearly «Alien».
The local soil is also of alien origin, and some shots are strikingly reminiscent of the Ridley Scott classic. There’s vile slime dripping from a predatory mouth, a «birth» monster that looks like a facehugger, jumping on victims in the spirit of the latter, and even a «acid» factor, which, however, now works in the opposite direction. What can we say about the girl who migrated here from somewhere in Cameron’s «Aliens».
In addition to the name, the very first shot of the film suggests an allusion to spider weaving: we are shown the aforementioned grandmother knitting. But by the time it comes to the actual spider hunt, the viewer runs the risk of getting bored. The trouble is that in the hour-long runtime, the only scene worth mentioning is the brutal massacre of a lonely woman, Maria, who has lost her family. This episode is really well filmed and inspires genuine horror.
The rest of the time, the camera wanders uselessly through the dreary corridors, darting between apartments and sometimes peering ominously into the ventilation pipe. At the same time, almost nothing interesting happens.
The spider grows like a weed, Charlotte, like a real rebellious teenager, shows obvious disrespect for her stepfather Ethan, and the latter is nervously torn between his duties as a construction manager and writing comics (for all those interested — not about «Spider-Man»). Outside the window, it is snowing furiously. Somewhere in the background of the plot about an increasingly fat spider, a boring family drama is unfolding.
It becomes much more interesting after an hour of viewing, when the Sting grows in size and begins its bloody binge. In the final act, an exciting confrontation between the heroes and the spider unfolds. This segment is full of very decent suspense, and the fate of the characters finally becomes not indifferent.
The character of Alila Brown, who has just recently appeared as a young Furiosa, incorporates the best qualities of not only the mischievous Kevin McCallister, but also John McClane with Sarah Connor. However, this fantastic factor is almost not annoying. Ryan Corr confidently portrays utter helplessness right up to the climax, in order to show unheard-of heroism in the finale. One of the best scenes of the film features Sylvia Colloca, who many viewers might remember as one of the vampires in «Van Helsing».
A little bit of a defusing of the situation is this ghostbuster Jermaine Fowler’s performance in the minimalist style, as evidenced by the legendary redesigned logo on his vehicle. It is he, along with his grandmother, who suffers from dementia, who is responsible for the comedic overtones. They are not very appropriate here.
Director and screenwriter Kiah Roach-Turner, who had previously made outright penny-pinching trash, has produced a horror film that is boring for an hour but thrilling in the final act, equal to the best representatives of sci-fi horror.
The director clearly knows how to work with practical special effects, but he didn’t calculate the pace of the narrative. Perhaps, if he hadn’t sprayed himself with family drama and comedy episodes, but had focused more on building a quality suspense and the actual scary component, the film would have benefited from it.