Sting (2024) | Film Review

When Sting opens on a kindly ole’ grandmother named Helga (Noni Hazlehurst) hearing random noises in the other room, it is still debatable what kind of film we are in store for. By the time a hilarious Jermaine Fowler arrives as Frank from Bug Exterminators, both the horror and comedy elements of this throwback to 80s kitschy monster flicks come roaring to the forefront.

Sting revolves around a modern family. Heather (Penelope Mitchell) and Ethan (Ryan Corr) have a newborn, as well as Heather’s daughter from a previous relationship, Charlotte (Alyla Browne). While occasionally strained, it is obvious from the onset that Charlotte and Ethan have a complicated though warm relationship. Ethan is not only the building’s manager, but he is also an artist and Charlotte envisions the world that occupies their shared comic book creations.

Charlotte is also in desperate need of a friend when she uncovers a tiny spider which she names “Sting”. Little does she know that this particular spider recently arrived from space. Nor does she understand or agree with Frank’s complicated advice that spiders are not your friends. Sting has a penchant for blood, and with every meal, this beastie gets bigger. I mean, a LOT bigger. As the film plays on, it will be left to Charlotte and Ethan to deal with Sting’s vicious tendencies.

Alyla Browne truly carries the film, evolving from a bratty, rebellious youth to a determined young woman with pathos on her back. Monster movies demand people we empathize with to effectively amp up the tension, and Browne’s Charlotte and her relationship with Corr’s Ethan prove worth pulling for as Sting continues to elevate the stakes. Not to mention all of the neighbors we meet as we weave around the apartment complex following Sting’s path.

Writer and director Kiah Roache-Turner delivers maximum thrills with a miniscule budget, and the best monster movies know how to produce tension regardless of funding. Think Jaws or The Thing. Sting evolves into a fully-fledged character, despite its knee-jerk icky design. As Roache-Turner’s camera traverses the ventilation ducts either following Sting’s path or Charlotte’s hunt for him, multiple moments are heightened simply by careful direction. Perhaps we only need a dangling leg here, maybe a total reveal there, whatever is demanded in that moment, Roache-Turner has carefully layered the film to reach the full potential of each respective scare. Maintaining a single location – one apartment complex – goes a long way toward ever increasing our anxiety.

While many will mention Sting in relation to Arachnophobia for obvious reasons, it also carries much in common with James Gunn’s Slither. It is a wild, gory, taut, and fun monster mash of a film, and one of the strongest of its kind in years. For this critic and as someone who grew up on 80s creature features, I absolutely loved the film. Taking into account the star-making performance from Alyla Browne to blockbuster level effects to tense direction from Kiah Roache-Turner, Sting is leading the charge for the best horror movie of the year.

Listen to our full podcast review of Sting on this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: