Charlotte’s Other Web
Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner
Starring Alyla Browne, Ryan Corr, Noni Hazlehurst
Released April 12th, 2024
Rated R
A copy of The Hobbit on Charlotte’s (Alyla Browne) bedroom shelf serves as the inspiration for the moniker the youngster bestows upon the eight-legged creature she finds crawling around her room. Charlotte is a kid who enjoys monster movies and scary comic books, so having a pet spider is something she’s excited about. Unfortunately, this one is a murderous alien. Better luck next time, Charlotte. Sting is an extraterrestrial spider, but unlike Hanus from Spaceman, this one is not a therapist. But it did find a family who could use one.
Charlotte lives with her mother Heather (Penelope Mitchell) and her mother’s new partner Ethan (Ryan Corr). Heather and Ethan have recently had a baby, who is an annoyance to Charlotte whenever she has to babysit. She’d much rather be in her room writing and drawing. Ethan is an artist and is collaborating with Charlotte on a comic book titled Fang Grrl. He hopes this will bring them closer together, as Charlotte’s father is out of the picture, though Charlotte longs to reconnect with him. This being a creature feature, you may not expect a strong family drama, but that ends up being an element of the story that the film carries off well.
Ethan lives in a constant state of frustration. He’s frustrated that his comic book isn’t coming along fast enough, he’s frustrated that Charlotte doesn’t see him as a dad, he’s frustrated that the job of building handyman falls on his shoulders. There is always something to fix in the multi-level Brooklyn apartment where the family lives. Heather’s mother Helga (Noni Hazlehurst) lives on the top floor with her sister Gunter (Robin Nevin), who owns the building. Gunter, who looks like an elderly version of Margot Tenenbaum, dislikes Ethan and enjoys ordering him around. While Gunter is stern, Helga is kind and sweet. Helga suffers from memory loss, which is alternately played for heartbreak or laughs depending on the scene.
Rounding out the small cast we have Erik (Danny Kim), a socially awkward neighbor who may be on the Autism spectrum, and Frank (Jermaine Fowler), a pest control technician. I am sure that Frank is meant to be a fan favorite character, but Fowler’s broad performance comes across as grating. The film would not work without a strong lead, and Alyla Browne, who appeared as the younger version of Tilda Swinton’s character in George Miller’s underrated film Three Thousand Years of Longing, gives a star-making performance as the resourceful Charlotte.
Sting is set in Brooklyn, but we never leave the apartment building and only see a few brief exterior shots (possibly stock footage?) of New York. Instead of adding a claustrophobic element to the film, it only highlights the low budget. But I give the filmmakers credit for making the most out of what they had available to them. I love the fact that the extraterrestrial spider is (at times) a practical effect. Cheers to Weta Workshop for creating yet another screen monster that could easily go on to become an icon. Sting looks fearsome, an oversized black widow out for blood. And there will be blood. The body count may not be high, but that’s not for lack of effort on Sting’s part.
Where did Sting come from? Why does it look like a spider? Why does it recoil in pain from contact with moth balls? I am okay not knowing the answers to these questions. It is refreshing that the film leaves you wanting to learn more about Sting’s species instead of there being a character who is some sort of alien arachnid expert who goes on a five-minute exposition dump explaining everything. Written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner and featuring an atmospheric electronic score by Anna Drubich, Sting is a monster film clearly made by people who love monster films, and they’ve infused this one with humor, horror, and heart.