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Stung - Blu-ray Review

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3 beersGenre fans rejoice!  The creature feature B-movie category just got a brand spankin’ new addition to its roster of gore, charm, and cheese.  Stung, directed by Benni Diez, is just the type of garden party turned story of survival you’ve been waiting for.  Full of genetically-mutated killer wasps, this English-language German production turns the proverbial table on the upper class and dines on them for a chump and a change as two star-crossed caterers lose more their lunch when the insect carnage begins.  This is Tremors times two and, god help me, I love it. 

Both fun and disgusting, getting the balance right in a horror-comedy that combines Them! with a generic slasher flick from the 1980s is tricky business.  Many have attempted to capture that vibe and most fail because they just can’t locate the area where gnarly and camp intersect.  Stung – even if it is a tongue-in-cheek feast of insect guts and human innards – gets everything right.  From the insane animatronics of giant blood-born wasps to the chemistry between leads Matt O’Leary and Jessica Cook, there is simply no way you – if you have a decent background in cult classics – don’t enjoy this flick.

Even on a very basic level, Stung is far more engaging and competent than the last few efforts I’ve seen recently by filmmakers to recapture a sort of throwback swagger.   Featuring thrilling guest performances from Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Pumpkinhead) and Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim, Transcendence), Stung (and I kid you not) is essentially a love story wrapped in the sticky gore of a monster movie as a swarm of genetically fed wasps crashes a lavish garden party and grow to be seven foot tall predators.  Forget about eating the rich!  These insects split these bastards in two and then wear their heads on their legs as if they were shoes.   

Most of the time, Stung doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t.  There are s few clunkers in its get-up-and-go momentum as the action is pretty much self-contained, the humor is self-aware, and everyone – including the “heavies” with the recognizable star power – knows exactly what type of flick they are running amuck within.  Written by Adam Aresty, Stung is slick without being sleek and, as it kicks with a high-octane thrust, highly flammable so, if it goes off the deep end with a finale that (maybe) doesn’t know when to quit, we forgive it of its moments of weakness.  After all, there are so few.

I have to say that if ever you find yourself willing to step in some pretty funny and often bizarre muck and mire, you should probably roll up your sleeves and attempt to get Stung by this release from Scream Factory.  I promise it won’t hurt a bit.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

Stung - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
87 mins
Director
: Benni Diez
Writer:
Adam Aresty
Cast:
Clifton Collins Jr., Jessica Cook, Tony de Maeyer
Genre
: Comedy | Horror
Tagline:
The Ultimate Buzzkill.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Holy... mother... fucker!"
Distributor:
IFC Midnight
Official Site: https://www.facebook.com/getstung
Release Date:
July 3, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Novemer 3, 2015
Synopsis: A fancy garden party turns into upper class prey when a colony of killer wasps mutates into seven foot tall predators.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Stung - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - November 3, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles
: English; Spanish
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A

The 1080p/AVC-encoded image is solid.  The giant-sized wasps are rippled with gooey details and this transfer handles it nicely.  Detail is strong in close-ups, though wide shots are slightly soft.  Black levels are good, but I noticed some minor crush outdoors at night.  Colors are nicely saturated, and no big issues with aliasing or compression artifacts pop up.  All things considered, this is a solid transfer ripe with expression on blu-ray.  The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is decently immersive, with ambient effects and several music and effects-based stingers (pun intended). 

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • If you want some more laughs then you should probably check out the feature length audio commentary with director Benni Diez, producer Benjamin Munz, and writer Adam Aresty.

Special Features:

Scream Factory, the horror-thriller offshoot of independent film distributor Shout Factory, offers fans another glimpse of Stung with the supplemental items.  This time, though, its through the lens of the filmmakers while they work to put together a most-entertaining slab of horror fun. 

  • The Making of STUNG (20 min)
  • Production Blogs (20 min)
  • Theatrical Trailer

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