Sting Review (2024)

'Sting' has many good points, but also some bad points which make it a movie you can miss on the big screen

Sting is a 2024 horror film directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, and the cast includes Ryan Corr, Alyla Browne, Penelope Mitchell, Robyn Nevin, Noni Hazelhurst, Silvia Colloca, Danny Kim, and Jermaine Fowler.

In a snowy New York apartment complex, a small meteorite crashes through a window, revealing itself to be an egg that hatches into a clever spider. 

Charlotte, a 12-year-old girl fascinated by her stepfather's graphic novel work, discovers and befriends the spider, keeping it hidden from everyone else in the building. 

But soon, the spider starts causing, shall we say, a bit of chaos.

Sting presents a promising concept that could have delivered plenty of enjoyable moments playing on peoples arachnophobia fears, but, it falls slightly short as a spider-themed story and lacks any real impact.

The film has a mix of easy and difficult elements to appreciate about it. 

At its heart, it's a family drama centered around Charlotte and her strained relationship with her stepdad, echoing Spielbergian themes. Charlotte feels neglected and fears her stepdad might leave, especially with the arrival of her baby brother, and the film taps into the universal fear of being replaced, a fear that many children experience when a new sibling arrives and demands the attention of their parents.

As for the spider, its appearance is also quite creepy, especially if you're not fond of spiders, and its detailed design can make you feel like there's a bug crawling on you, and the film does a decent job of making sure that the spider isn’t just an ordinary creature but rather a symbol of Charlotte’s growing unease and her deteriorating mental state.

The biggest issue with the film though is that it struggles to find its identity within the horror genre, as it oscillates between intentional drama and a more serious, atmospheric approach, resulting in a lot of inconsistency, and some horror moments feel gratuitous, lacking purpose beyond shock value, while others that are crucial for understanding the creature's behavior, are glossed over.

These moments feel like missed opportunities to add depth to the creature and to the overall narrative, and more could have been developed with regards to its relationship with Charlotte, its purpose, and its abilities, but they are often left vague.

This uncertainty extends to Charlotte's characterization as well.

Despite being a typical preteen, she's often framed in a sinister light, creating confusion about her role in the story, and this visual inconsistency undermines our empathy for her character until the film abruptly shifts focus, expecting us to root for her.

Instead of creating a character arc where the audience grows to understand and empathize with Charlotte's fears and motivations, we’re left with a character who feels unpredictable and contradictory, we have no natural progression from innocence to strength (or vice versa), and her character feels more like a puzzle that the film doesn’t fully allow the audience to solve. 

Despite its flaws, Sting is watchable I would suggest for some creature feature escapism, featuring some impressive practical effects as well, and while the movie struggles to find its footing, it still provides some entertainment, particularly for fans of creature features, but it could have been a lot more.

Personally I much preferred Infested.

[Sting on IMDB] [Where to watch Sting]

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