2024 is shaping up to be a big year for bugs and Kiah Roache-Turner’s monster spider movie Sting is here to make your skin crawl! We’ve already got 2 sandworm movies on the books (hello, Dune 2 & Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice), not to mention some colossal-sized critters in Godzilla x Kong, but the creepy crawlies are once again having their day in the dark corners of the horror-sphere. It wasn’t long ago that we heard rumblings of a James Wan/Christopher Landon Arachnophobia reboot, and here we are now with two new spider movies about to infest your local theatre. While I’ve heard that one of those spider movies is intense and unrelenting (I’ll believe it when I see it!), Sting is fun, and funny, and loaded top to bottom with A+ practical effects 🤘
Writer/director Kiah Roache-Turner is no stranger to a good time, or to delivering killer, practical-effects driven stories. His previous Wyrmwood films are a zombie-apocalypse dream for any horror fan desperate to see handmade horror and practical creatures. Sting, utilizing the talents of the world-renowned Weta Workshorp, continues his (much appreciated) obsession with animatronics, prosthetics, and buckets of blood! It’s also good that his movies tend to have a great sense of humor too, because without the relief of a big laugh Sting would be pure nightmare fuel for everyone scared of those eight-legged freaks that turn our homes into their own personal hunting grounds.
“Sting is fun, and funny, and loaded top to bottom with A+ practical effects!”
After crash landing in New York City, an alien arachnid munches its way through an apartment building like an all-you-can eat buffet. Trapped by the inquisitive (and kick-ass) Charlotte, played by Alyla Browne, the spider grows rapidly, hunting bigger and bigger prey. It’s starts small, pouncing on the insects Charlotte feeds to it. She even name’s the little creep Sting, which is cute-and-all until Sting sets its sights on Charlotte’s family, her neighbors, and an in-over-his-head exterminator, played by the hilarious Jermaine Fowler.
Fans of the Nickelodeon classic Hey Arnold! will especially appreciate Sting‘s eclectic cast of characters. There’s a creepy amateur scientist whose apartment is filled with fish, a lovelorn widow sipping on red wine and petting her Chihuahua, and a crochety old building owner who lives with her sweet, but forgetful elderly sister- to name a few. Charlotte and her family are struggling to find their footing, but thankfully, a fight for their lives against a monstrous spider creature might just be the bonding experience they’ve been looking for.
“…a classic monster movie, jam-packed with killer moments of arachnid mayhem.”
Sting is one hell of a good time at the movies and hearing a squeamish audience uncomfortably groan while watching bugs crawl into people’s mouths is always the highlight of my day. It’s a classic monster movie, jam-packed with killer moments of arachnid mayhem, a stacked-roaster of kooky characters, and brilliantly bugged-out special effects. Whether you love spiders, or the thought of those venomous little monsters send shivers down your spine, Sting is coming for you…
Kiah Roache-Turner’s Sting hits theatres Aril 12! Let us know what you thought of this creepy crawly monster movie on social media or in the Nightmare on Film Street Discord! We especially want to hear all about your audience’s uncomfortable laughter and terrified shrieks.
