Sting – Movie Review (4/5)

STING (2024) is a spider creature feature with a very different kind of challenge. An awesome new take on a spider horror movie that isn’t about being scared of your average spider. Read our full Sting movie review here!

STING (2024) is a new horror movie about a spider. And it is very much a spider creature feature with a twist. For one, this spider is nothing like your average daddy long-legs. The story isn’t meant to make you scared of friendly eight-legged creatures that help control pests around your home.

In fact, the opening scene of this new horror thriller reveals that it isn’t even of this world. Not unlike the opening scene of the Parasyte series on Netflix. I loved this take on the horror niche. Especially as someone who isn’t fond of the creepy crawlers but would never hurt them. This speaks to me!

Continue reading our 2024 Sting movie review below. Find it in theaters from April 12, 2024.

Meet the pet spider “Sting”

This spider creature feature begins on a cold and stormy night in New York City. We see a mysterious object falling from the sky, which turns out to be an egg. The egg has crashed through a window in a rundown apartment building and a strange little spider emerges from the egg.

The rebellious 12-year-old girl, Charlotte, is obsessed with comic books and doesn’t seem to fear much. She comes across the spider and decides to make it her pet. Charlotte names it “Sting” and even manages to communicate with it. She whistles when getting ready to feed it and her spider copies her song back.

Yeah, it’s clear that this is not your normal spider.

Charlotte is spending a lot of time alone, so she begins to bond with her new pet. Despite having a stepfather who wants desperately to connect with her, it’s always one step forward and two back. The two even have a comic book co-creation called “Fang Girl” which is based on her.

However, Charlotte misses her biological dad who she idolizes. Mostly due to not knowing too much about him, it would appear. Also, Charlotte’s mom is distracted by the new baby in the family, so the entire household is struggling to cope with everyday life.

Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases almost as quickly as its size. It also becomes obvious that her little pet spider has an extreme appetite for blood. Pets in the apartment building go missing and then the neighbors themselves.

A spider the size of a pitbull

I don’t think a spider has ever hurt me, yet I still feel queasy around them. A totally irrational fear, but there you have it. And yet, I love watching these movies and tend to hate when the spiders are supposed to be tormented and killed.

Maybe that’s yet another reason why I really liked Sting. This is pure survival and even as an animal lover, I can get behind exterminating an alien spider that we cannot live alongside.

I think we all know that personal stories are stronger. So thinking of the scariest thing imaginable and making it into a movie is a brilliant idea. For Kiah Roache-Turner, who is scared of all spiders no matter their size, the thing that scared him the most was the idea of a spider the size of a Pitbull.

And in Sting, I would dare say it gets quite a bit bigger than a Pitbull terrier.

A tribute to Alien and a great star

The star of Sting is Aylya Browne (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Charlotte. And the spider, of course, but it really is about Charlotte and her family. Even her extended family which turns out to consist of quite a few eccentric characters.

Before making Sting, Aylya Browne had just done The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart where she co-starred with Sigourney Weaver. And there is actually a scene in Sting that feels like something straight out of Alien. A pure and true tribute that you cannot miss when you watch this movie.

Also, Sigourney Weaver gave her young co-star a few tips on working with big and dangerous creatures from out of space. She must have given good advice because Aylya Browne is amazing as Charlotte.

QUICK SIDENOTE ON SPIDERS AND NAMES

As a fan of the beautiful spider story “Charlotte’s Web” the fact that the lead character in this spider horror movie is named Charlotte is not lost on me. In Charlotte’s Web, the title character is the spider, just as here in Sting.

As Charlotte’s stepfather, Ethan, we see Ryan Corr (House of the Dragon), and her mother, Heather, is portrayed by Penelope Mitchell (Hellboy). In other roles, we see Robyn Nevin (Top of the Lake), Noni Hazlehurst (The End), Danny Kim, and Jermaine Fowler (A Murder at the End of the World).

Watch Sting in theaters!

I love the fact that the writer and director of Sting, Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood), is scared of spiders himself. He says he is “intensely arachnophobic” and has been ever since a spider bit him in a sandpit when he was a toddler.

Keeping it all in a single location, focusing on just one monster, and having the lead characters be a family were further strokes of brilliance. All elements from horror templates that work wonders if you know how to work them right. And Kiah Roache-Turner clearly does!

Do not miss out on this new horror thriller. Especially if you enjoy sci-fi stories with aliens or spider creature features. This is a brilliant combination that has a solid pace and a tight story. Enjoy!

Sting is out in movie theaters from April 12, 2024.

Details

Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Writer: Kiah Roache-Turner
Cast: Ryan Corr, Alyla Browne, Penelope Mitchell, Robyn Nevin, Noni Hazelhurst, Silvia Colloca, Danny Kim, Jermaine Fowler