Sting
A suitably creepy-crawly flick that will terrify those of you with a touch of arachnophobia, Sting is the latest offering from emerging horror director Kiah Roache-Turner.
Set in an old apartment block in New York inhabited by a diverse variety of quirky, inner-city occupants, the story revolves around imaginative twelve-year-old Charlotte who is having trouble accepting her new stepfather and a noisy baby brother into her life.
Charlotte binges on comic books and projects all her inner anxieties into her own comic creations, but her life begins to get a little weirder when she discovers an oddly responsive little spider after a mysterious asteroid shower and decides to keep the creepy critter as a pet.
Naming her new eight-legged pal Sting, it’s not long before the little fella is not so little, and things take a turn for the worse when her neighbours' pets begin to perish in evermore grisly, nasty ways.
Can Sting's deadly reign of terror be stopped, and will it spare his owner Charlotte from a fate worse than being wrapped up in a silken web and turned into spider-friendly human soup?
You can pretty much guess the outcome of this one, but to quote the well-used phrase, it's not the destination that's important here, but the journey. Roache-Turner knows how to set a grim and grimy scene, and the action here uses tried and tested horror techniques to make us squirm in our seats. Sting literally morphs from a cute little bug into a gargantuan monster complete with a multitude of tiny, beady eyes and more fangs than a vampire convention.
Whilst we get to know the apartment block's residents in the first half, they're nice enough to not really care about, which comes in handy when they meet their demise in the movie's ferocious-yet-fun second-half.
If you're a horror aficionado, you'll enjoy it for the grim and horrible playfulness of it all. Give this one a go if you fancy a frightful but fun creature feature that will deliver thrills and crimson-coloured spills.
Young Woman and the Sea
An adaptation of Glen Stout's popular book, itself based on real life events, director Joachim Rønning takes this awe-inspiring tale and just runs with it, letting the magnificence of the story do all the talking.
Starring Star Wars royalty, Daisy Ridley takes on a role here that plays to her strengths, allowing her to shine as a determined Olympic swimmer who is not afraid to stick it to the man.
Set in the 1920s, Ridley plays Trudy Ederle, a gold medallist who has overcome adversity and the crumbling class system throughout her entire life. Born a US citizen to German immigrant parents, Ederle's struggle to overcome the obstacles set in place by society has been hard fought, but when she sets her sights on swimming the English channel, no-one takes her seriously.
It's an inspiring tale and told with all the might and majesty you'd expect from a big budget Disney production. With grand sweeping visuals and a genuinely heart-pounding story at the centre, it's hard not to get drawn into this majestic true life saga.
Ridley is an inspired choice of lead. Determined and fearless, Ridley's got what it take to give us an empowering heroine we can all admire. Give this a go if you’re after an honest drama with a great central performance and a grand, unforgettable story.
