Running Time: 91 minutes
This feature from Well Go USA Entertainment opens wide in movie theaters on April 12th.
It’s funny that, while for many spiders tend to make the skin crawl, there aren’t a great deal of horror movies devoted to the subject. Yes, there have been a few memorable titles, like the giant arachnid film Tarantula! (1955), the William Shatner drive-in feature Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), the Hollywood Pictures/Disney summer sleeper Arachnophobia (1990) and the David Arquette effort Eight Legged Freaks (2002), but these troublemakers haven’t really been as much of a genre film staple as one might expect. The new Australian feature Sting hopes to rectify that problem, delivering a chilling tale about a family in peril from one of these creatures.
The problems begin with a tiny chunk of a comet crashing through a Brooklyn, New York tenement during a snowstorm. A spider is released from the rock, scampering into the ventilations system before coming into contact with 12-year-old introvert Charlotte (Alyla Browne). The moody youngster is struggling to find a place in her blended family, retreating from mother Heather (Penelope Mitchell), new stepfather Ethan (Ryan Corr), as well as her baby brother. After capturing the arachnid, she decides to keep it as a pet, but slowly begins to realize it isn’t like other spiders, witnessing it hunt voraciously and mimic prey. Within days, the creature grows to an enormous size, hunting larger and larger sources of food. Soon, the entire family is put in danger and must overcome their personal issues to survive.
Since the picture is set during a snowstorm, the film keeps all of the characters contained within one space. It’s a wise move, maintaining a tense and claustrophobic feel to the proceedings. The movie is also handsomely mounted with plenty of style to burn. The interiors are moodily lit and the extreme camera angles and arachnid point-of-view shots are a hoot. There are entertaining high and low-angles used throughout, with the spider often hiding just out of sight before leaping into action. And when it grows larger, the monster is appropriately threatening, spouting fangs and spitting venom. For a movie without the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster, the nasty spider looks quite convincing and serves as a real menace.
The main plot involves the strained relationship between stepfather Ethan and Charlotte. Their relationship is convincing as the new dad attempts to serve as a father figure and someone the youngster can trust. Some of the supporting cast come across as overly exaggerated, but local exterminator Frank (Jermaine Fowler) and oddball neighbor Erik (Danny Kim) make memorable impressions and deliver plenty of amusing lines during the ordeal.
Like many horror movies, the plot does require some suspension of disbelief. The ventilation system in the building is far, far bigger than one would expect, but of course this is a necessary device to allow the monster to move quickly between flats and hunt down the leads. And after they learn what Charlotte has been doing in secret, Ethan and mom Heather in particular don’t seem as panic-stricken about the venomous spider and its proximity to their innocent newborn as they should be.
Still, these elements are expected to a degree in this genre and they certainly don’t ruin the experience. And by the elaborate and tense climax set in the bowels of the building, one does fear for the safety of the baby, Ethan and Charlotte, as well as a few other characters. The pacing is quick and the package manages to offer a few chuckles and plenty of anxiety-provoking jolts. In the end, Sting has enough venom to allow it to sit proudly by the most memorable spider-centric features that have preceded it.