Sting (2024)
When reviewing Sting, one critic stated that the small scale setting and thus, low stakes (IE only a few peoples lives are at risk), made the film not especially memorable. I consider this to be a somewhat spurious criticism. It is the very fact that Sting takes place in such a commonplace environment, with the main characters being everyday people that makes it different. There is a clear focus on well defined characters and their backstory. Unlike so many contemporary films, I actually gave a damn about the protagonists in Sting. An integral aspect of the horror genre is the ability to take a well known and familiar trope and provide a different and absorbing spin on it .It would appear that some audiences have been belaboured over the head by so many overblown and bombastic blockbusters, that the very notion of depicting small, localised and intimate events in a film, seems to bamboozle them.
Charlotte (Alyla Browne ), a rebellious 12-year-old, lives in a rundown apartment block with her overworked stepfather, Ethan (Ryan Corr), her mother Heather (Penelope Mitchell), and her infant half-brother, Liam. Frequently left to her own devices, Charlotte discovers an unusual spider which she catches and keeps in a jar. Unbeknown to Charlotte, the spider originated from a luminous meteor that landed in her great-aunt's apartment. Charlotte nurtures the spider, which she names Sting and it subsequently grows at an astonishing pace. Initially, she conceals its increasing size, but as it becomes more challenging to keep hidden, her stepfather and the neighbours begin to observe unusual happenings within the building. Sting's rapid growth and voracious appetite soon result in the demise of pets and residents alike. Is Charlotte’s family safe?
Director Kiah Roache-Turner, builds the tensions with some clever jump scares based around shadows and household objects being mistaken for Sting. As for the spider itself, it is very well realised by Weta Workshop, Cumulus Visual Effects, and Spectrum Films. The majority of the visual effects are practical. Sting manages to provide gallows humour, with its wise cracking exterminator and comedy pets, along with the required horror elements of a “creature feature”. However, what makes the film more interesting than standard genre outings are the characters and the central theme of a daughter reconciling with her stepfather. The human aspects of the story are well handled and have a Joe Dante-esque quality. As I’ve said before, not every film has to be a cinematic milestone. A small, focused story that is well done, is a perfectly entertaining proposition. Sting provides exactly that.
