Stung

"Stung" is novel as it combines the classic zombie tale with John Carpenter's "The Thing." Monster wasps are attacking, and if you get bitten (or rather, "Stung") by one, you undergo a gruesome metamorphosis into a giant wasp, replete with lots of goo.

"Stung" is a "horror comedy" with zero laughs, but the wasps are worth looking at and the film gets points for not taking itself seriously. Further points are awarded as it stars horror veteran Lance Henriksen and Clifton Collins Jr (anyone involved in the production of Pacific Rim automatically gets a thumbs up in my book.) Factor in a misty, green-themed colour palette and we're presented with a film that's easy on the eyes.

Where the film falls flat is its lead: a tedious stoner-slacker who inexplicably transforms into a commanding hero the moment the giant wasps begin attacking. Where was all that gusto before, when all he was interested in was getting high? I guess a "hero" like this one is meant to appeal to 30-something men who, deep down, think they're special or have secret potential (or something) but can't ever be bothered to put down their blunt. Personally, I've never found anything appealing about an underachiever, and only in a trite male power fantasy like this one could the guy ever get the girl.

When I found "Stung", I must admit that I was instantly compelled to pick up the movie and read the synopsis. And I needed little more to convince me to sit down and watch it. I do like horror movies, and creature features are usually quite fun to watch. But while killer insects have been done over and over, it still does have some appeal to me.

The visual and special effects in "Stung" were actually surprisingly good, and they really added a lot of enjoyment to the movie. It is always nice to see practical effects in a movie, and not just have an all out CGI showcase. Sure, there were CGI present here too, but it was a nice mix of practical and CGI effects.

However, I must admit that I didn't really understand the idea of huge wasps bursting out of stung people mere moments after having been stung. Sure, it was fun and entertaining for the movie as a whole, but it made very, very little sense.

"Stung" has a pretty good ensemble of cast, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Lance Henriksen was in this movie; I didn't know that prior to sitting down to watch the movie. It is unnecessary to point out that Lance Henriksen is always entertaining to watch in the movies that he is in. Matt O'Leary was actually carrying the movie quite nicely together with Jessica Cook. It was also a nice treat to have Clifton Collins Jr. in the movie, especially in a role such as he was portraying. I haven't seen him in a movie for quite some time.

The design of the wasps was actually quite good, and it looked rather convincing and realistic, so the props and special effects team really managed to pull off something nice with this movie.

Writer Adam Aresty came up with an enjoyable story for sure, while director Benni Diez did a great job of putting the story to life on the screen and managed to capture the spirit and essence of old school horror movies with "Stung".

There is a good atmosphere and feel to the movie, and it sets a very adequate mood for the type of movie that "Stung" is. And if you are familiar with the older "Mimic" movies and enjoyed those, then you will most definitely also like "Stung".

I was laughing so hard when they put in a Wilhelm scream when there was a big explosion which engulfed the queen wasp. I didn't know that wasps were capable of performing a Wilhelm scream, but I was proved wrong. That was just hilarious.

I must admit that I had initially just thought this would be another campy and cheesy creature feature with questionable CGI. But I was proved wrong, so very, very wrong. And I really enjoyed "Stung" and can warmly recommend that you take the time to watch it if you enjoy a good horror creature feature in the spirit of the old school horror movies.

Predictable ending to the movie? You betcha... But all in all an enjoyable creature feature. I am rating it 6 out of 10 stars.

Well, this is horrorcom, naturally one expects some laughs, some insane action, some over-the-top set pieces..well, we got about half of the last ingredient here. The problem is, humor is just not there, neither in situations nor in jokes, the characters kinda drag through better part of the film awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say, or what kind of stunt to pull. Then, we have Mist-esqu insects galore, but that doesn't quite work out either. This flick can't decide what famous horror to pay its homage to, is it already mentioned Mist, Shaun of the Dead (through main guy who looks and acts very similar to Shaun - Simon Pegg) or Alien - during the final part.

Lance Henriksen is there - why, yes he is, and he elegantly works his way through undemanding role of a small town's Mayor, but the charisma is effortlessly present. Same can't be said for our young duo of caterers that just can't catch their lucky career break, and are falling in love while all hell breaks loose. Actually, Matt O'Leery (Paul) does his best and gets there while his partner, Jessica Cook (Julia) just kinda exists...yeah. Sorry guys, the flick, up to this point, is as dead as the party that's just about to get somewhat more interesting...but not overly so.

Effects and cinematography are very decent, but mostly generic story, sans decent laughs, motivation and chemistry between characters waters the whole thing down. This is not a bad watch, and it does picks up in the last..hmm forth of the film, but it's just not enough to make it a memorable, bloody, suspenseful and funny experience. And that's what every good horror comedy's about...or so I've heard. Passable, but nothing to write home about. OK, so it does have some good ol' splatter, nice fx and bloodshed, but...Sorry to report, I've not been stung by it.

Stung offers truck loads of buggy fun. From its opening scenes through to its conclusion this a fun filled, unashamedly camp horror, complete with a cast of colourful, intentionally stereotypical, characters.

Stung taps into the 1950/60's big menacing bug genre. Its all been done before but I have to say, probably not this well, in a long time. In spite of its modest budget, Stung, is a polished affair. The acting is good, the special effects reasonable and whilst the storyline is predictable, its so well presented you hardly notice. There's a few moments of black humour thrown in too, which further enhance what is already a decent film.

If you like your horror a little camp, quirky and generally over the top fun you should give Stung a try. Eight out of ten from me.

Although no masterpiece, STUNG is an unashamedly old-fashioned monster B-movie that actually turns out to be slightly better than expected; it's certainly better than the level of fare regularly turned out by the SyFy Channel over the last decade or so. The main problem this film has is not with the execution or the effects - which are surprisingly cool - but the moribund attempts at humour in the script, which is full of dumb lines and expletives.

Other than that, it's okay for a B-movie. Killer wasps attack a party, but this is only the beginning of the story as most of the running time is about big, gooey monsters and bodily horror. The special effects thankfully avoid cheesy CGI for the most part and revert back to decent, prosthetic work, which you may remember from the good ol' days of 1990s era horror such as SKEETER or TICKS. Lance Henriksen is the only actor of note here, but he has quite a big part and is unsurprisingly the best thing on the screen.