Film Review: STING (2024): New Killer Spider Scarefest Has a Lot of Bite and Plenty of Suspense

Sting Review

Sting (2024) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner and starring Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell, Jermaine Fowler, Tony J Black, Alyla Browne, Silvia Colloca, Noni Hazlehurst, Alcira Carpio, Danny Kim and Robyn Nevin.

Sting is a surprisingly successful horror film about an over-sized killer spider that begins with a wild scenario and keeps getting crazier and crazier while sizing up a fair amount of thrills and chills along the way. Despite some minor apparent budgetary restraints, Sting will keep viewers hooked as they hold on to the hope that the poor chihuahua in the movie doesn’t get hurt over the course of the events that transpire in this terrifying and suspenseful picture.

Child actress Alyla Browne does a fine job playing Charlotte (any inspiration from the book title, Charlotte’s Web, is, obviously, purely coincidental) who is the main character in the movie and the one who takes in a small spider as a pet. But, wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. The film opens with a snowstorm in Brooklyn and an exterminator, Frank (Jermaine Fowler doing his best Chris Tucker impression) going into an apartment building at the demand of an elderly tenant, Helga (Noni Hazlehurst) who can’t remember her address without looking at a paper on the wall. Some loud sounds occur and it’s obvious that crazy things are going on in the unit Frank has come to look into. The movie eventually cuts back to a small amount of time earlier.

The superintendent/manager of the building is the troubled Ethan (Ryan Corr) who is involved with Charlotte’s mom, Heather (Penelope Mitchell). Charlotte’s baby sibling even gets into the action and gets trapped in a spider web at one point late in the picture but, again, I’m jumping ahead too far. While Ethan deals with his family dilemmas, Charlotte’s pet spider proves to be a bit dangerous unbeknownst to Charlotte. The upstairs neighbor, Erik (Danny Kim) says the growing spider is going to be big trouble too but Erik is a bit suspicious too as Ethan points out when he asks Charlotte to stay away from Erik.

A female neighbor in the building is killed and Charlotte gets to take possession of her cute chihuahua who gets some precious close-ups and almost steals the movie. The core of Sting revolves around the growing spider who becomes a memorable movie monster as the film develops. There are also moments of pure genius such as when a character looks up and apparently sees the spider but it could be just a ceiling fan. Or did the spider just pass the fan really quick?

As the movie develops the relationship between Ethan and Heather, Ethan’s behavior grows more and more intense until he ultimately smashes a television out of frustration. But, Sting is more concerned with being a horror movie in the vein of Arachnophobia meets Gremlins but much darker and set in an apartment building if that makes sense. Director Kiah Roache-Turner doesn’t miss a trick and keeps the young girl’s fascination with her new pet spider a constant throughout the plot until Charlotte realizes that the huge monster needs to be stopped…and fast.

Predictably, the film leaves room for a sequel with its nail-biting ending that may get rid of one big spider but that doesn’t mean there’s not another baby spider somewhere waiting to hatch. What is really awesome about Sting is how the picture utilizes its setting very effectively. Supposedly set in Brooklyn, New York, every time characters enters the vents in the building, an opportunity for suspense arises and Roache-Turner does a terrific job maintaining the momentum and pace of the movie which prevents the movie from ever becoming boring.

Meanwhile, there are some good performances. Alyla Browne is perfectly cast as Charlotte who seems to have all the answers until all hell breaks loose and there is no turning back. Ryan Corr as the heroic dad is also likable despite his emotional outbursts which occur during the picture. There are two standouts in the supporting cast, though: Noni Hazlehurst and Jermaine Fowler get some laughs thanks to the comic relief they provide. Fowler may be emulating Chris Tucker or just acting funny but the performance works. Hazlehurst’s forgetful Helga gets so many moments of confusion that she’s certainly not reliable but the actress revels in her role.

Sting will keep horror film audiences watching while all but hiding under their seats as the spider makes attacks and pops up out of the dark at given intervals throughout. The creature effects are also noteworthy as they make the large spider one of the most effective creatures at the movies this year so far. Creepy crawlies are always a sure-bet to win over fans of these types of pictures. Sting is also smart and the director knows how to fashion a reliable scarefest. Sting certainly has a lot of bite despite some basic familiarity with a few of its jump scares.

Rating: 7/10

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