New horror movie about killer spiders debuts to strong Rotten Tomatoes score, earning comparisons to Alien and Slither
Apr. 15, 2024Who doesn’t love a giant arachnid?
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Horror’s latest spider-themed movie has landed and it’s getting rave reviews, with fans calling it a must-watch for lovers of creature features.
Sting, which premiered in US theatres on April 12, has debuted to a rather impressive 70% onRotten Tomatoes. Although some critics are calling it a run-of-the-mill spidey slasher, others say it has earned its place in the beloved horror sub-genre, as Meagan Navarro fromBloody Disgustingwrites: “Thanks to [Alyla] Browne’s bold performance and an emphasis on practical creature effects, Sting works as an entertaining throwback creature feature.”
Daniel Rester fromBattle Royale With Cheesewent as far as to liken the film to one of thebest sci-fi moviesever: “Sting works best in its final thirty minutes when it starts to feel like Alien in an apartment building.” Similarly, Aaron Peterson fromThe Hollywood Outsidercompared it toJames Gunn’s 2006 movieSlither, writing, “It is a wild, gory, taut, and fun monster mash of a film and one of the strongest of its kind in years.”
However, for some critics, the film just didn’t hit the mark, getting caught in a web of cliches so to speak, as Dais Johnston fromInversesaid: “It’s a paint-by-numbers creature feature, but it goes over the lines in a distracting way.” Simon Abrams fromRogerEbertechoed, “The makers of Sting have obviously seen a lot of genre movies, but that cinephilia doesn’t translate.”
Nevertheless, even though Sting probably isn’t this generation’s Arachnophobia, that doesn’t make it any less of a horror movie, as Luke Y. Thompson fromComingSoonput it plainly: “Sting may be as predictable as any slasher movie, but delivers enough of the spider-goods to satisfy.”
Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, the arachnophobia-inducing movie follows a 12-year-old girl who has secretly been raising an unnervingly talented spider, only to discover that her once-loved pet is rapidly transforming into a giant flesh-eating monster. In anEvil Dead Rise-type situation, she and her family must fight for their survival in the apartment block against the eight-legged freak.
The cast includes Ryan Corr, Alyla Browne, Penelope Mitchell, Robyn Nevin, Noni Hazelhurst, Silvia Colloca, Danny Kim, and Jermaine Fowler.
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