Sting

I'll be honest, I was not excited about this at all. Properly meh... n I'll watch if I've nothing else on my radar.

Maybe that helped?

Combined with my huge fear of spiders... and recent releases of similar genre and theme.

I got the chance to watch, and I have to be honest it was a good fun watch. Not what I expected at all.

It had good comedy moments (loved grandma) and the dog scene. Not a spoiler.

There was elements that reminded me of home alone, if you watch you'll know.

I think this film was really well done, like I say someone with a feat but I didn't find it boring at any part and enjoyed the actual story. Definitely say give it a look. Took me by surprise.

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.

Sting is truly one of the worst of the recent pop star biopics. Okay, maybe his time growing up in Newcastle isn't particularly cinematic, but that's no excuse to throw in giant CGI spiders just to keep the audience entertained. And I understand it's expensive paying for royalties, but none of his famous songs are used at all. Instead we just have a suspenseful soundtrack which I don't think he even wrote.

And The Police don't even get a mention. One of the key New Wave bands of the 70s and 80s, ignored so we can watch a huge arachid jumping on people.

Check out Boheian Rhapsody, Rocketman or I Wanna Dance with Somebody instead.

STING is a really good monster movie with impressive -both CGI and practical- special effects. If you are a fan of such films, then this monster will not disappoint. While the story might not be complex, it gets the job done, presenting us with plenty of terror, gory moments, and some humor along the way.

Set in an apartment building during a heavy snowstorm, the residents begin experiencing a severe bug problem after young Charlotte (Alyla Browne) captures and befriends a tiny spider. Of course, we know from the opening that said arachnid is actually a visitor from outer space. A creature with a voracious appetite, and the ability to grow at an alarming rate.

One thing that helps this film is its having a solid cast of oddball characters, including an elderly woman with dementia; an exterminator with an attitude; a strange, monotone biologist; and the mean, ultra-bitter owner of the building. Charlotte's family provides the pathos and dysfunction to the proceedings.

A fun, scary movie with some nice homages to classic sci-fi features...

I saw this movie had a good score, particularly for a horror. I thought the opening scenes were alright. The movie's visual style kinda reminded me of "Willard"

But the movie fails to execute. Instead of a creepy or thrilling horror about monstrous spiders - we go on and on with the family drama. We get scenes with a dementia-striken mother, arguments between a stepfather and stepdaughter, arguments between a husband and wife, and discussions about the family's income (mostly tied to the patriarch's odd line of work as a comic-book illustrator). They should've scrapped these scenes and went more with the spiders.