Review of Stung

A horror movie doesn't necessarily always have to be good or surprising. Sometimes it's more than sufficient already if it lives up your hopes and/or expectations. In case of "Stung", for example, I had only set my hopes on seeing an unhinged and over-the-top giant creature-feature with plentiful of gore and a straightforward simplistic plot. Guess what! "Stung" delivers just that! And if you aren't too skeptical either, you're guaranteed to have a fun time with this German/American co-production that is (nearly) a genuine throwback to the glorious days of 70s animal-horror. There exist several bee-movies (like "The Swarm", "The Deadly Bees" or "Terror out of the Sky"), but apart from Roger Corman's "Wasp Woman" there aren't too many movies about killer wasps to my knowledge. The recipe for pure entertainment here exists of a totally bonkers plot, good old- fashioned gross-out special effects and bad but likable acting performances. The nervous and uptight Julia has just taken over her father's catering company and constantly worries that things will go wrong, in sheer contrast to her co-worker Paul, who just wants to relax, smoke weed and make out with Julia. They head out to cater the annual garden party of the eccentric Mrs. Perch and her creepy son Sydney at their secluded country estate. Mr. Perch used to make a fortune in the pharmaceutical business, but now his wife and son remember his death through annual garden parties where several prominent community members come to, like Mayor Caruthers for example. The evening quickly turns into a nightmare, as hundreds of mutated wasps intrude the party and viciously attack the guests. Since oddball Sydney experimented with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, the wasps are oversized and extremely aggressive … and they lay their eggs inside their victims' bodies, with horrendous subsequences. After an admittedly rather slow start, "Stung" is a non-stop fun and thrill- ride with too many gory highlights to list. The sight of humongous wasp-monsters bursting out of their human hosts is just terrific, especially because quite often the human leftovers – like entire heads – remain stuck on their insect armor. There's a nicely balanced mixture of traditional special effects and above-average decent computer engineered effects. The sound effects of the films are also imaginatively nasty. Apparently the sound of cracking lobster shells can be used to imitate the sound of giant fake wasps! As said, the acting performances aren't very good, but they are definitely likable. There's a nice and almost natural chemistry between Matt O'Leary and Jessica Cook, while the familiar faces Lance Henriksen and Clifton Collins Jr. are responsible for the more memorable and flamboyant supportive roles.

Oh, and the answer to the riddle in the subject line is: Stinging in the Rain