Pop-Culturalist.com

Alyla Browne and Ryan Corr are two of the stars of writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner’s spine-tingling (and terrifying) horror-thriller, Sting.

One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider…

The creature is discovered by Charlotte (Alyla Browne), a rebellious twelve-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Despite her stepfather Ethan’s (Ryan Corr) best efforts to connect with her through their comic book co-creation Fang Girl, Charlotte feels isolated. Her mother and Ethan are distracted by their new baby and are struggling to cope, leaving Charlotte to bond with the spider. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed

As Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable. Neighbors’ pets start to go missing, and then the neighbours themselves. Soon Charlotte’s family and the eccentric characters of the building realize that they are all trapped, hunted by a ravenous supersized arachnid with a taste for human flesh… and Charlotte is the only one who knows how to stop it.ith comic books. Despite her stepfather Ethan’s best efforts to connect with her through their comic book co-creation Fang Girl, Charlotte feels isolated. Her mother and Ethan are distracted by their new baby and are struggling to cope, leaving Charlotte to bond with the spider. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Alyla and Ryan about Sting, creating that stepfather-daughter dynamic, working with practical effects, and more.

PC: Alyla, Charlotte must be such a fun character to play because there are so many different shades to her. How did you prepare to step into her shoes and not only highlight her strength but also her vulnerability? What was it about her journey that you connected with?
Alyla: It was actually a very quick turnaround between Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Sting, but I was very excited about this character even before I got on set. We had a week of pre-production. She’s this twelve-year-old girl living in New York, which is so cool. She’s a badass and she does crazy stuff.

When I was reading the script, it was so well-written. I grasped so much about the character and was able to build on it from the script and Kiah’s direction. We filmed my horror scenes towards the end of the shoot, so it felt like I was living in her for the beginning half. It was just me being my sassy teenage self as Charlotte.

Then with all the horror, it was me reacting to a puppet on set. It was just like Charlotte being scared. Because of the way that we shot, it really helped me live in my character’s arc.

I remember my first day on set. I was hiding this baby Sting from Ryan, just like Charlotte does. She was a really fun character to play because I got to be her and then I got to be her being scared.

PC: That’s such a smart creative decision. You got to live through Charlotte’s shoes in the way that she is in the story. Ryan, this is such a personal story to Kiah. Your character’s journey is about a stepfather coming into fatherhood, which you brought so much nuance and depth to. What were some of the early conversations you had with Kiah about exploring this dynamic? How did you create the space for yourself to dive into that emotional arc?
Ryan: Kiah spoke very early on about how the best horror films stem from somewhere personal. That’s both in his fear of spiders and his fear of being a parent and getting that wrong, and a stepparent in his case. We spoke in quite detail during that week of pre-production, all of us, about the importance of family and what our personal experiences have been.

I’ve grown up in non-nuclear families with two wonderful stepparents who really helped raise me and have been incredibly supportive in my life. For me, this relationship with Alyla, and our characters was at the forefront of Ethan’s journey, paying homage to the effort it takes to be a parent and wanting to be a key figure in their life, and how there are some elements that make that different.

Exploring that is Ethan’s focus. When he starts having doubts and starts showing that darkness which he shouldn’t have in that dynamic, that’s when Sting and that ominous figure start growing as well. It’s about coming together and healing that, that helps them both defeat Sting and heal their relationship.

Alyla: It’s one big metaphor.

PC: Speaking of that dynamic, Alyla, Charlotte and Ethan bond over their passion for graphic novels. How were you and Ryan able to build that stepfather-daughter relationship, especially from Charlotte’s point of view where she very much sees Ethan as a role model and a hero?
Alyla: Ryan felt like a dad to me during the pre-production stuff because we got to rehearse all of the scenes and be in those characters. When I got on set, it felt natural. Most of my roles have had dads in them, so I’m quite used to having a fake, but not fake dad. This one was really interesting to play because their relationship isn’t on great terms. They’re in this in-between. It was a fun thing to workshop with Ryan because each scene has a different intention. But it felt like me just being a teenager most of the time.

PC: Ryan, it was also really important to Kiah that the spider be physically present during filming and not added in through special effects afterward. How helpful is that for you as an actor to have that physical presence to act opposite instead of a tennis ball and a stick, especially when you’re trying to convey that fear?
Alyla: It’s very, very helpful, especially when you’re portraying fear because it’s based on Alien, and they had real puppets there. I actually spoke to Sigourney [Weaver] before the scene. I knew her from The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. I was trying to get tips because the scene that I wanted tips on…

Ryan: You can’t just drop that in. We’re sitting there and we’re talking about how to be scared of a practical spider. I was like, “You’ve worked with Sigourney, you should call her and ask her how she did it on Alien.” Alyla walks out of the makeup room, comes back in, and she’s on a Zoom call with Sigourney Weaver asking, “What scared you about Alien?” What was her wonderful advice?

Alyla: She said to react to the spider as if it was there. That wouldn’t have been possible unless it was a puppet. It was really interesting being able to go down to the rawness of acting and reacting.

Ryan: You’re right, it is different from a stick with a tennis ball or a little green globe, isn’t it? It also comes with different challenges to navigate. You’ll have giant puppet spiders thrown at you with eight legs and you have to work out ways to make it look like you’re being attacked by it while still embracing it. There are often puppeteers. That practicality is always fun about being in Kiah’s films. Working with Wētā [Workshop] was wonderful. They were constantly trying to problem-solve and figure out the best way to navigate around us. That was one of the draws of the film, getting to work with Kiah and the practical effects in an almost sort of ’90s horror film feel.

Make sure to follow Alyla (Instagram) and Ryan (Instagram). Sting is in select theaters now.

Photo Credit: Johnny Nicolaidis (Ryan)