Film Review: STUNG (2015)

Mutated killer wasps turn to simple garden party into a nightmare in the giant monster film Stung (2015).  If you like giant monster films then you will enjoy this film in which stars Jessica Cook and Matt O’Leary as two hostess for the party who get stuck at the elusive party where everyone around them is being either killed by the giant wasps or become incubators for even bigger creatures. 

Written by Adam Aresty the film is not only a great giant monster film but it also takes the time to develop the main characters as well.  Whereas most films of this type could care less about the “human” characters relying more on the monsters and the kills this films manages to balance both elements equally.  It’s also manages to craft some great kills and great CGI effects that don’t look (too) cartoony.  It’s a low budget horror film but you wouldn’t know it from the presence of such character actors as Lance Henriksen and Clifton Collins Jr..

The film is directed by Benni Diez who brings a nice flare to the giant killer monster film that’s both entertaining and written well with its own unique charms.  It’s good to see a monster film that doesn’t shy from the bloody stuff and isn’t too dumb (or watered down) for its own good.

Film Review: THE TERROR WITHIN (1989)

Classic B-Movies don’t come better than a Roger Corman production although ‘89s The Terror Within is not among one of his best nor is it one of his worst.  In a post-apocalyptic world a group of survivors are holed up in a military bunker away from the devastating effects of a war that had catastrophic effects on everyone left exposed above.  One of the after effects of the war is the existence of deadly mutants that populate the earth and kill everything they come into contact with.  What these mutants don’t kill they mate with to continue their species. 

Hal (George Kennedy) is the leader of this group of survivors that are trying to survive in this harsh new world.  During a routine hunt for food and supplies on the surface, part of Hal’s team discovers evidence that humans have been living on the surface without any effects from exposure  but one of these humans carry the offspring of the mutants within her.  When this survivor from the surface world is brought back to the bunker the mutant baby hatches and all hell breaks loose within the bunker and Hal and his group of survivors must hunt down the mutant before it hunts them down and kills them all.

Like any Corman film this film borrows heavily from other films especially Alien (1979) and a plethora of Corman’s own sci-fi and fantasy films.  Kennedy was a well-known character actor of the ‘80s and ‘90s and is a big draw for this film even though he has limited face time.  The rest of the film has an equally capable cast and what the film lacks in originality it more than makes up for it in entertainment value and gore.

Corman’s films have never been one to shy away from monsters and despite the low-fi special FX it delivers in entertaining the audience who has come to expect the cheesy stories and monsters.