STING: A Sluggish Spidey Monster Movie

In a New York City apartment, a mischievous young girl finds a unique spider and decides to make her pet. But the arachnid has an insatiable hunger and doubles in size as it feeds, eventually into a monstrous beast with a craving for much larger, human prey. Written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, Sting has a promising premise that could have been packed with lots of fun gags feasting on your arachnophobia, but unfortunately, it’s a spidey tale without much bite.

It largely follows Charlotte (Alyla Browne) who gets into some mild trouble in her building. It’s quite the family affair; owned by her great aunt, her ailing grandmother resides there, and her stepfather Ethan (Ryan Corr) is the superintendent. There are a few other residents we meet but are mostly just fodder for the titular creepy crawly.

The biggest issue with the film is it takes itself a touch too seriously instead of leaning into the hilarity of an alien spider monster. It wanted to be Evil Dead Rise when it needed to be Eight Legged Freaks. It lacks the fun energy and humor that you’d expect from a creature feature like this. And that lack of vibrancy ultimately made the 90-minute film feel slow and sluggish.

We learn quickly the dynamic between Charlotte and Ethan. He’s trying hard to be a good father figure and is helping to illustrate a comic-book character she’s created; which seems to have real potential to go places. But they butt heads, especially over her deadbeat dad. Overall the stepfather-stepdaughter relationship felt quite surface level and didn’t fully click. The film tries so hard to build a lot of conflict there but it never feels super meaningful.

And this could in large fact be due to the film not having likable characters overall. No one was developed in a way that you would want to root for them. Of course, you don’t want to watch innocent people die horrible deaths, but the stakes feel so low because no one strikes any sort of chord with the viewer.

That is except for Jermaine Fowler, a highlight of the film. Fowler portrays Frank, an exterminator, and in the brief time we see him, is such a breath of witty air. But unfortunately, he is so underutilized and was the comedic relief this film so desperately needed.

There are certain elements I’ll give the film credit for. The premise itself is solid and I think it nails the atmosphere, and it even delivers some good practical effects. There’s a nifty idea with a Super Soaker loaded with mothball water as a weapon — which just solidified that this film needed to be a little bit out there with its ideas to make it more fun.

In the end, Sting had the potential to be a fun, silly theater-going experience, but it lacks the spunk and inventiveness to make it that. It also surprisingly felt very tame, despite an R-rating. It’s a rather forgettable film, which is a shame for fans of the genre who are looking for a different take on the classic monster movie formula.