Sting

Sting tells the story of 12-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne), a rebellious young girl who finds an unlikely companion in the titular Sting, a black widow spider that she trains to hunt bugs. However, as Sting grows larger, and seeks out larger prey, it soon becomes clear that it is no ordinary spider, and Charlotte (get it, like the book) soon finds herself as the last line of defence between her pet and her family.

This central plot is the weakest part of Sting as a narrative – the arc that Charlotte and her stepfather Ethan (Ryan Corr) go on is fairly generic, and even the film feels unenthused about this aspect of its storytelling. This is a particular problem, as while Sting claims smaller targets throughout the movie, it takes a while before it becomes a real and interesting threat, so the least interesting aspect of the story by a country mile is also the part that takes up most of its screen time.

Despite being the character the film is named after, Sting is also tragically under-utilised as part of Charlotte’s character journey – it’s established early on that the spider is intelligent, and there are shades of Little Shop of Horrors in Sting’s premise that could have been interesting to explore, but that narrative potential gets left on the table.

However, where the feature truly shines, and where it feels the most excited about itself, is in its comedy. Sting embraces B-movie schlock with passion and gusto, with director Kiah Roache-Turner’s (which, incidentally, is the perfect name for someone who made a movie about a big bug) playful cinematography toying with cinematic conventions and facilitating some great, gory visual humour.

The ensemble cast also does a fabulous job of enhancing the comedy and drama – in particular, Alyla Browne steals the show as Charlotte, spinning straw into gold with her strong, emotive performance, making sure the movie’s key beats land as well as they can.

Overall, Sting is a complicated beast. When it leans fully into its absurdity, it’s great, but a significant amount of the runtime is shackled to an uninspiring A-plot that torpedoes its pacing. It’s a shame that it hides its comedic light under a bushel, but the strength of Sting’s presentation in its funnier segments goes a long way to still make it an enjoyable, if flawed, experience.

Umar Ali

Sting is released nationwide on 31^st May 2024.

Watch the trailer for Sting here:

https://youtu.be/ys807OKQrgE