Sting
I’ve always been creeped out by spiders. I think most people are, and I never thought I had a true aversion to them in general. My response to Kiah Roache-Turner’s “Sting,” however, might have proven that thinking wrong, however. I cannot imagine ever being courageous enough to watch this with the lights out, and perhaps that is a sign of how effective Roache-Turner’s film is. I think it’s a good movie, but I’m not sure if I could ever watch it again.
“Sting” follows four days in an apartment complex. At its center is a family- the mother (Penelope Mitchell), the stepfather (Ryan Corr), the daughter (Alyla Browne) and their newborn- with a grandmother, Helga (Noni Hazlehurst), upstairs who has Alzheimer’s. The central family has a decent relationship, especially Charlotte (the daughter) and Ethan (the stepfather). Charlotte is a writer and Ethan is an artist; together, they’re working on a comic book. Charlotte is keeping a pet spider, however, which she has named Sting. There’s something a bit unusual with this spider, however, and no one will be safe, as a result.
From a writing standpoint, this is a straightforward creature feature that will both tear apart, and bring together, the family by the end. There are trust issues abound that arise between the three main characters, as well as others in the building, like a scientist curious in Sting, and an exterminator that comes to take care of things. The build up and release of tension is all fairly predictable as the story gets going, but Roache-Turner understands how to make it effective. (Having a creepy crawly score by Anna Drubich that hits all the right beats is a big plus.) He uses shadows and glimpses of the spider effectively, and knows just how to play the gore. He took the best lessons from “Jaws,” in other words, as well as the best B-movie imitators. This is a damn good horror film, and I look forward to probably never watching it again because it’s damn good and creepy and hit me in a truly unnerving way. I cannot say that about a lot of horror movies nowadays.
