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We’ve all seen the hackneyed, poorly CG-ed, primetime Asylum special on Syfy version of Stung too many times before. Director Benni Diez, every producer, and each department head go the extra mile to avoid such a fate for their 80s throwback creature feature. That’s what’s so endearing about a 2015 “When Insects Attack” flick with gigantic ideas and the right approach, rooted in buzzworthy practical effects. Stung would play gangbusters along with other abominations of nature like Zombeavers or Eight Legged Freaks (for different reasons), also classics like Them! or Mosquito, and deserves reappraisal for standing out from the swarm.

Screenwriter Adam Aresty hatched the idea while working on an actual catering gig with a wasp problem, which he morphed into the gonzo invasion that takes place. Julia (Jessica Cook) runs a catering company hired for an annual New York garden party hosted by newly widowed Mrs. Perch...

Spirit of the Wasp’s Nest: Diez’s Debut a Schlocky Creature Feature

African killer bees were once a common threat in disaster themed American cinema of the 1970s, reaching a penultimate plateau of ridiculousness with Irwin Allen’s famous 1978 celebrity packed stink bomb, The Swarm. Their aggressive cousins, mutant wasps, get a chance at bat in Stung, the directorial debut of Benni Diez. Previously a visual effects supervisor, whose most notable credit was Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia (2011), Diez utilizes his particular skillset to notable effect in his first feature. Unfortunately, some striking special effects are the only details saving the picture from being a complete waste of its audience’s time.

Julia (Jessica Cook) has recently had to take over control of her father’s catering business following his untimely death. She’s unsure if she’s up to snuff, relaying her fears to lone employee Paul (Matt...

Hulu's supernatural series, Deadbeat, which stars Tyler Labine as a stoned slacker who can communicate with the dead, has been renewed for a third season. Also in this round-up: Stung's release date and the trailer for the Kevin Bacon-starring Cop Car.

Deadbeat: Press Release (via TV By the Numbers) -- "Santa Monica, CA – May 26, 2015 – Hulu announced today that the Hulu Original series Deadbeat has been renewed for a third season with a 13-episode order. Produced by Lionsgate Television, the series is co-created by Cody Heller and Brett Konner (Wilfred, The Inbetweeners) and executive produced by showrunner Dan Lagana. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Sarah Esberg from Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment are producers on the show.

The half-hour comedyseries stars Tyler Labine (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Reaper) as Kevin Pacalioglu, a hapless but gifted mediumwho will go to any lengths to help New York’s ghosts settle their unfinished business.

Guests at the garden party in the upcoming creature feature, Stung, will have to replace their EpiPens with swords and flamethrowers if they want to survive the giants wasps from below that are featured in the film's first trailer. Also included in our latest video round-up is a boy next door with a creepy caretaker in John McNaughton's The Harvest, as well as Helen McCrory's tour of her character's eerily decorated mansion from the upcoming second season of Showtime's Penny Dreadful.

Stung: "Mrs. Perch, an elderly, wealthy lady from rural America, is throwing a fancy garden party at her remote country villa. Same procedure as every year - except this time her illegally imported plant fertilizer seeps into the ground. Subsequently, a local species of killer wasps that usually lay their eggs into other insects mutates into 7 ft tall predators. And the celebrating upper class company provides...

Earlier this week, we gave you details on first wave of special experiences and events taking place at the 2015 Stanley Film Festival. We now have details on their impressive slate of features, short films, and additional special events, including screenings of The Final Girls, Deathgasm, Stung, The Invitation, and We Are Still Here.

We're teaming up with the festival for live coverage and special opportunities for Daily Dead readers, so be sure to check back all month for contests, features, and more.

"April 2, 2014 (Denver, Co) - The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today its Closing Night film, Festival lineup and the 2015 Master of Horror. The Festival will close out with The Final Girls. The film, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, is the story of a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s,...

Getting stung by a wasp hurts, and it can be fatal for those who are allergic. But imagine if those tiny winged insects were seven feet tall—you would have to replace your EpiPen with a sword to stand a chance against a stinger that big. In Benni Diez’s Stung, two catering staffers and a group of garden partiers take on giant mutated wasps, and we have a look at the film’s new poster that’s eye-grabbing and eye-puncturing.

“Mrs. Perch, an elderly, wealthy lady from rural America, is throwing a fancy garden party at her remote country villa. Same procedure as every year – except this time her illegally imported plant fertilizer seeps into the ground. Subsequently, a local species of killer wasps that usually lay their eggs into other insects mutates into 7 ft tall predators. And the celebrating upper class company provides just the right kind of prey.