Tail Sting (2001) User Reviews

Eye-Wateringly Awful-But I had a great time laughing at it

[oddjob589 · 1/10 · 6 December 2003]

My friends and I had a movie night in which we each brought a terrible movie. This festival of atrociousness contained such esteemed titles as 'Chairman of the Board' (starring Carrot Top), 'Benji,' 'Like Mike' (starring Little Bow Wow), 'Murder She Purred,' and of course, 'Tail Sting.'

So how bad was Tail Sting? Well, let me put it this way, my friends and I were all in agreement that Tail Sting was worse than all of the other movies combined. The end of the Matrix Revolutions made six billion times more sense than this entire movie.

Ever heard that Richard Geni comedy routine about Jaws the Revenge (if you haven't, you should)? Mr. Geni could make an entire HBO comedy special out of this joke of a movie.

The production values of this movie are exceeded by elementary school educational film reels, while the acting could have been done better by Chester, your friendly neighbourhood homeless person.

*Spoilers Ahead*

But all of this is understandable. They had a poor budget and could only afford to cast the washouts from the Gong show. But a poor budget is no excuse for a script that allows a woman to kill a giant scorpion by hitting it over the head with a laptop computer. I mean honestly. I would have gladly written them a better script for free, AND MY WRITING STINKS!!!

Now should you see this movie? YES. Show it to your family, your friends, your enemies, your pets, your English teachers, and complete strangers. THE WORLD MUST SEE HOW BAD THIS MOVIE IS. If you are the sort of person that delights in laughing at terrible movies then this is a must. Make sure you watch this with a large group of friends late at night so you can revel in this movie's putridness. Better yet, buy it for one of your friends.

Cheers

Almost makes "Snakes on A Plane" look professional

[Ispybeeper · 1/10 · 22 April 2007]

I have a sick weakness for cheesy budget Air Disaster/Mishap/Hijack type scenarios. Tail sting however is just too much. I only paid £0.99 from Tesco Extra (UK supermarket) and even after a further 10% staff discount was applied I consider myself robbed. The movie is too stupid to be serious but doesn't seem to be an attempt at humour either. I can only assume it was made as some kind of straight face challenge. Hard to believe that Amazon are charging £15.99 for it. I was considering listing it on eBay but I don't need any more negative feedback. The best thing about is the case it came in, as I can reuse it for something else.

Wow, just wow

[Papa_Jupiter · 2/10 · 16 July 2005]

How this movie was made past 2000 blows my mind. The effects and dialogue are some of the worst I have ever seen. The prime example of this is when the character Courtney sits next to the German character Gunther (later to be revealed to be an American named Joel) and this is how they strike up their conversation. Courtney- Your weird Gunther- Uhh sex At this point I was on the floor laughing my ass off. There are also many other points which are either ridiculous, stupid or full of bloopers. There are even times where members of the crew are visible. Not to mention the ridiculous weapon that is rigged up to kill the queen of the scorpion (scorpions have queens?). It supposedly a super strong electrifier that needs armor to protect the user. But all it is is a simple defibrillater. The effect that it makes when used on the queen looks good for the original Godzilla. That goes for many of the effects in this movie.

I want my one dollar back.

[Ninja_Haxor_Critic · 27 February 2003]

Oh my goodness. I rented this movie with a one dollar coupon and was sad to find that it was the only time in my life I was upset about wasting a dollar.

The Good.

1. The movie ended.

The Bad

1. The movie started.

2. In one scene a boom mic operator can clearly be seen in the back of the shot behind a cargo net moving the mic up and down and hither and yon.

3. In another scene a man is sucked out of the plane - past the plane door onto a sound stage and through a trap door - I was unaware planes had sound stages and trap doors - even the big ones.

4. In the same scene as above a gaggle of debris is being blown (in the classic "stuff gets sucked out the open door shot") yet the oxygen masks are hanging straight down.

5. The scorpions grow from about a foot in length to about six feet in length in about two minutes for no apparent reason.

6. Scorpions - like ants and bees and England - have queens . . . apparently.

7. The scientists who genetically engineered the scorpions continually refer to them as insects while I, admittedly not a scientist, am pretty sure they are arachnids.

8. The "queen" scorpion, without aid of a trap door or opposable thumbs and without any reasonable explanation whatsoever (even a simple explanation like "because") becomes locked in the cockpit and the pilot needs only to close the door to trap it inside - it remains here for a long time.

9. The shot of the plane landing at LAX is the same shot of the plane leaving Australia leading one to believe LAX is surrounded by Victorian style homes and an 18 hole golf course.

10. The autopilot is simply a little metal box with a switch and a light titled "Auto Pilot" and it is activated without consideration of other flying wackiness like coordinates or destination - even The Langoliers had that.

11. No Rutger Hauer - sad, it is a movie of his finesse and caliber.

12. The cockpit windows are completely black despite repeated shots that the plane is flying during the day.

The Somewhat acceptable.

1. The "hackers" look like real hackers should - pale, overweight and not prone to things like human contact or socializing.

Overall - a bad movie. So bad it makes a movie like "Turbulence III: Heavy Metal" look like an Academy Award winner for Best Picture. The script was bad, the actors and actresses and boom mic operator even worse and the plot and character development was nowhere to be found. The special effects were atrocious - sure there were no CGI effects but the puppet effects were so horrific it would have been scarier with Gonzo, Grover, Professor Honeydew and Beaker as the queen.

Save yourself the sorrow of wallet victimization. See "Turbulence III: Heavy Metal", see "The Dead Next Door", see "Left Behind II: Tribulation Force" - don't see this . . . please . . . for the children.

So stupid its funny!

[Major_Pwnage · 1/10 · 2 July 2004]

I swear in all my years I have never seen a movie as incredibly bad as tail sting. but something about this movie just made me laugh almost like I've never laughed before. heres a few of the laughable things in this crap fest.

*Warning Spoilers Ahead*

1.this movie has the special effects calibur of THE MUPPETS SHOW and I'm not kidding, the scorpions look like something a four year old made with paste and construction paper!

2.the characters were sooo stupid i mean the scientists kept saying that scorpions were insects...wait wait aren't scientist suppost to be smart?

3.the humor in this movie was utterly retarded, so retarded in fact that i wanted to throw my DVD player out into the middle of the road, grab a baseball bat, bash it as hard as i can, then wait for a car to come and run it over every time they made a joke.

4.some of the most plot holes I've ever seen in a movie, how can a scorpion go from 5 inches to 3 feet in a few minutes?

DO NOT AND I REPEAT DO NOT RENT THIS MOVIE unless you like to laugh at the pure cheesiness of bad movies. i give TAIL STING a 1/10

Genetically modified scorpions run amok on a plane!

[lord_guku · 1/10 · 11 August 2005]

I hired this from my local store and was so gob-smacked I bought it when they put it in the bargain bin. From the sleeve notes: "Whilst in transit between Australia and the USA, a crate of genetically created scorpions are exposed to a dangerous unrefined oxegen. Their growth hormones are sent into overdrive and the mutant arachnids are on the rampage. One by one they attack the aircraft crew, then the passengers and knock out the communications system, crippling the aircraft. As the jet limps blindly in autopilot across the Atalantic, the passengers and crew must use all their ingenuity to survive this nightmare at 30,000 feet." (sic throughout) From the opening terrible camera-work to the final laughable climax this turkey will stun the viewer. A pilot called 'Jack Russell', extras visible in shots, an autopilot control made from plywood, awful rubber monsters, a plane with at least three floors and the 'interesting' way the heroine runs, make this film a dubious delight! A corker!

This film made me laugh from start to finish.

[Rod-MacLean · 1/10 · 4 June 2007]

It's a long time since I've seen a film this bad. Where do we begin? The security guard hiding in the back of the truck just before it was robbed. He never told his boss... if he had then the whole movie would have been finished before it began. It's not a big deal but it's that kind of sloppiness and lack of attention to detail that get's this film into deep water very quickly indeed. I'm glad it does though. This is cheese that could easily have been made by a modern day Ed Wood.

Particular highlights include:

boom mic visible - not just the mic itself but the guy who is holding it too. Astonishing!

Capt Jack Russell! - not a single snide joke or funny look when the wooden captain announces who he is. The audience will be spellbound by his "acting" talents. The blindfold - ooo ha ah ha ha ha. He could see right through that and it was completely obvious!

The plane - it's on about three different levels. The same hatch seems to lead to a multitude of different places underneath. The lighting.

OK sunlight streams down from above in one scene - through one of the skylights on the plane. The coffin contains so many holes that you could easily be mistaken that they're just holding a coffin lid above the two actors. Everything is dark. Even when the plane is working properly.

The plot of Tail Sting is so full of holes that you could easily mistake it for a piece of swiss cheese. Nothing makes sense. The stuff that does make sense isn't scientifically accurate. Some things could have been checked with a child's encyclopedia.

I loved this movie. Everything that could have been wrong was completely and utterly wrong, wrong, wrong. Watching this was like watching a train crash in slow motion. A hilarious, badly acted, badly shot, badly scripted train crash. Lovely.

This is... worse than bad.

[arraychannel · 1/10 · 20 May 2019]

I watched this movie for my Tapes that Time Forgot series on YouTube (the Enthusiast) and am now debating on whether or not I should subject my viewers to this absolute travesty. It's a complete clutter from start to finish, riddled with plot holes, wacky dialogue, and plain old bad scenes. For your sake: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE.

True Dreck - Scorpions on a Plane

[jmaass · 2/10 · 29 October 2006]

A truly bad movie, similar to what happens when someone takes a porno film and takes out the sex scenes. This film has all the positive attributes of a bad high school drama club production, minus the "family appeal".

Laura Putney does a passable acting job with little support from her overacting and mostly unlikeable supporting cast. Gulshan Grover and Guy Bracca as brothers Yaffi and Sudan do a reasonable acting job as well. Everyone else involved in the cast and crew should look into selling real estate.

Some of the "lowlights": Monster parts on-screen with visible human operators and supporting structures; the underlying plywood scenery construction visible when the cockpit panels get shot (clue to effects people: airliner cockpits have very little plywood built into them), the FAA "experts" are all unbelievable and insulting, Tara Price's character can't decide on an accent (Australian? New Jersy? Midwestern? what the Hell, new scene, new accent!), Rick Kelly, as "baddy" Scott takes the ham-handed overacting skill to new extremes.

Tail Stink

[w00f · 2/10 · 5 November 2002]

A truly awful movie with laughable special effects, plot holes big enough to fly a 747 through (excuse me, but just how does a 7' long scorpion crawl the length of a charter plane, from rear to cockpit, without anyone noticing?), a script written by a 6th grader and acting that wouldn't win an audition for dinner theater.

Best thing in the film is the line "Talk to the elbow, because the hand wants to slap you." This was obviously targeted to the director of this tripe. One or two comic moments, but not worth paying money to rent. This one crashes on take-off.

One of the worst ever

[uscmd · 1/10 · 19 September 2004]

This movie earned its 2.1 the old fashioned way....bad acting, bad plot and bad story....the trifecta of filmdom.

My question...how come its not on the worst movie list? It should be number 19....

I'll be honest...I watched 35 minutes of it...it was all I could take without intravenous heroin.

10 line minimum?

Well lets see. I especially liked the dingy store-room, complete with dirty shelving....that supposedly was part of the airplane. Or the Dr. talking about how he had invested "all his family holdings."

If by some quirk of fate you are contemplating this turkey....go away, go very far and very fast. This movie is not campy, nor accidentally funny....it just plain reeks.

One of the most hilarious comedy's out there

[Verbal_Kint_95 · 10/10 · 11 July 2005]

I can't say enough good things about this movie. This movie was just wonderful. A friend and I watched this movie in it's entirety and we both laughed intensely hard at it. Even if it was supposed to be a horror movie it was so funny. The budget for this film looked like it was maybe 100 bucks.

1. Their was major bad dialogue in it. Their was one scene where this one woman named Courtney in the plane is talking to this creepy German goth guy named Gunter this is their conversation.

Courtney: "Your weird." Gunter: "Sex."

What the heck does that even mean????!!! This was a point where I laughed intensely at.

2. There was equipment constantly heard or seen. I recall in one seen where the two middle eastern fellows were trying to fix the landing gear on the aircraft and for a whole 3 minutes you could see a boom mike. It was bobbing in and out of the top of the screen. Also there was a scene where the captain of the aircraft was climbing out of the cargo hold and he has his foot grabbed by a scorpion. After a short while the "Creature" lets go but when it goes away you can here the sound of wheels of a skateboard underneath it. Also in the scene where Gunter is grabbed by a scorpion you can see one of the "Muppet" operators beneath the scorpion.

3. The scorpion's were so badly made I couldn't believe this movie was made in 2001. They honestly looked like some one had made them while sniffing glue. They kinda looked like they were made out of real cheap paper mache.

I could go on and on about this movie but I'll stop here but in all honesty if your looking for a real scary horror movie DON'T rent or buy "Tail Sting". If on the other hand your looking for possibly the best comedy ever made DO rent or buy this excellent film and watch it with your friends.

Cheesy creature feature

[slayrrr666 · 7/10 · 3 August 2006]

"Tail Sting" isn't that bad of a low-budget creature feature.

**SPOILERS**

Weather problems force an airline to change one of it's airplanes along a new route, causing general dissent among the passengers. On board is Dr. Jennifer Ryan, (Laura Putney) a doctor, is traveling as well, and doesn't realize that her experiments will come to an end after the plane lands. As the passengers and crew of the plane start disappearing, Pilot Jack Russell, (Robert Merrill) becomes concerned and starts to look for them. When he finds that giant scorpions are the culprits and are running around on his airplane, he rounds up what few survivors remain and try to fight their way out.

The Good News: This one wasn't as bad as it could've been. The creatures are, for once, not done with CGI and it makes the film seem more real than the other types with similar story lines. That helps much in giving the scorpions much more credibility. The creatures are also designed like true B-movie creations, taking the traditional look of the regular scorpion and making them quite appropriate for the kind of film. The action flies pretty fast and furious pace, keeping it up beat and pretty interesting. The plane setting is mostly used to it's greatest selling point, and the suspense is utilized quite effectively. The sequences where the claws clicking is heard off-screen are great examples. A big body count is also quite appreciated, making for some nice death scenes. The film also has one of the cheesiest overall atmospheres. There really isn't any unintentional laughs or anything present, but it's just a giant cheesy ride.

The Bad News: The cheesy atmosphere may put off some, and as it's so prevalent through the film, and for those that don't like those kinds of films, it's quite a hard film to sit through. The film also doesn't have many shocks or scares at all, making it even harder to sit through if you can't stomach these kinds of films. Those are pretty much the main thrust of the complaints, as it's easy to figure out what a cheesy, shock-less horror films is like. Even though it is refreshing to see the scorpions not be composed of CGI, they're not all that realistic. Points are given for not going the normal way, but then they're quite easily discovered to be fake.

The Final Verdict: As it's a pretty cheesy affair, you know what you're going to get right away. It really doesn't offer anything new, but it's worth a look for those that like this kind of film. If you're not a fan of this kind, then steer clear.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity and a mild, clothed sex scene

Unspeakably horrible.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 1/10 · 28 May 2006]

On a flight to Los Angeles,a group of genetically enhanced scorpions that were smuggled aboard escape and wreak deadly havoc.As the pilot struggles to prevent the plane from crashing into the icy Atlantic,the passengers must battle the poisonous creatures."Tail Sting" is so incredibly awful that I couldn't even finish it.I watched one hour and fast-forwarded through the rest of this abysmal garbage.The scorpions look terrible,the plot is extremely dumb and the acting is painfully bad.The worst aspect of "Tail Sting" has to be the editing,which shows us a few boom mikes and is simply amateurish.I can't believe that such piece of horse crap gets a wide release and some Italian cult horror films are still unavailable.Avoid this trash like the plague.1 out of 10.

An absolute insult to 'bad' movies...

[cchase · 14 January 2003]

As someone who prides himself on being a connoseur of the So-Bad-It's-Good school of movies, regardless of the genre, I cannot stress enough how gawd-AWFUL this movie really is. We are talking so dreadful, that there isn't a single redeeming nugget of entertainment value to be gleaned from it, and considering some of the dreck I have been privy to, that's a remarkable statement to make with any confidence. But if any movie could make the likes of such anti-classics like PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE or HORROR OF PARTY BEACH seem like Shakespeare, well, this is it.

I couldn't get this out of my DVD player fast enough after about ten minutes. Save yourself the agony. Go find a copy of ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES and rent that, before you even think about this one.

And PLEASE...don't let the artwork on the cover fool you. That's exactly what moviemakers of this ilk rely on. For once, judge a book by its cover, and skip TAIL STING.

In a word...dreadful

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 22 September 2020]

Before SNAKES ON A PLANE there were scorpions on one too in this cheap and derivative B-flick in which the interior of a plane looks like a little warehouse set somewhere. A cast of B-movie nobodies feature in a long-winded and entirely boring story in which a few giant scorpions show up to sting people but the emphasis is very much on cheesy overacting and dull character intervention. Even though I was no big fan of the Samuel L. Jackson flick, it was at least twice as good as this one.

Tail Stink

[tmccull52 · 1/10 · 29 September 2020]

For a horror movie, this is a great comedy. The opening action sequence, which depicts the foiled heist of a van and its cargo was hysterical. Two motorcyclists, acting in concert with, and under the direction of, another person on a radio, try to stop a van and steal the contents.

Now, this van is driving off-road, through the desert. There is virtually no one else around, except for Mr. Anonymous Conspirator on the Radio, who is an unspecified distance from the van. All of a sudden, there are two motorcycles right behind the van. Let's call these guys Bikers 1 and 2.

Bikers 1 and 2 emerge from behind the van, and split off to either side to flank it. Biker 1 approaches on the passenger side of the van, and Biker 2 flanks the driver's side. Biker 1 throws a gas canister through the passenger side window. Here, we find the same movie magic that mysteriously and magically produced the bikers behind the van to begin with.

Biker 1 throws the gas cannister through the rolled up passenger window. The cannister, however, does not break the window after having been thrown into the van, but somehow makes it inside of the van nonetheless. The driver of the van immediately pulls over, overcome by the gas.

Bikers 1 and 2 go to the back of the van and pull open the doors, and out jumps Mr. Old Fat Guy in a Sport Coat, brandishing a pistol. Apparently, even though he was in the same van as the driver, maybe six feet away, Mr. Old Fat Guy in a Sport Coat was not affected by the gas cannister that disabled the driver. Mr. Old Fat Guy in a Sport Coat is such a shrewd security specialist, that he keeps his gun trained on the Biker that DOESN'T have a gun, while leaving the Biker that DOES have a gun uncovered.

It turns out that the cargo that Bikers 1 and 2 were trying to steal was a shipment of genetically modified and mutated scorpio. One of the passengers on the plane, who is connected to the development of the scorpions, is in cahoots with Mr. Guy on the Radio, and Bikers 1 and 2. On the plane, Mr Evil Passenger is discovered by the Old Fat Guy in a Sport Coat. Evil Passenger, his nefarious plot uncovered, tries to unsuccessfully bribe Old Fat Guy in a Sport Coat. They fight, and Evil Passenger accidentally kills Old Fat Guy in a Sports Coat. In the process, he inadvertently releases the genetically modified scorpions. Hijinks ensue.

The characters in this movie are gross parodies, at best. No one in this movie can act their way out of a wet paper bag. The acting is God-awful, the special effects are even worse. The plot is absolutely idiotic. If I was in any way involved with any aspect of making this movie, I would take any and every legal means to have myself disassociated and separated from the credits.

As a horror movie, this is a pretty good unintentional comedy. One of the flight attendants beats a six foot long scorpion to death with a laptop computer. That's just an example of the rampant stupidity to be found in this movie.

It's okay...

[redhead9898 · 4/10 · 6 October 2007]

Tail sting is a film where you look at the cover and say,'Oh scorpions on a plane. It must be the original "snakes on a plane" That is what I thought. But, boy, was I wrong! First the beginning is where somebody is trying to rob a van, or something. They get defeated and then it shows a airport then some attendent something about flight being canceled so a group of kids have to go on another plane. Later on a man kills a secuirity guard by impaling him by the thing you use to ski.Then they fall and the scorpions mutate and kill. It's your average fake looking b-movie with pointless dialog and there is a quick scene with humor. My rating: Fakeness: A+ Realistic: F- Acting: C- Suspense: D- Action: B+ Adventure: D- Birds p.o.v.: F+ Overall: C- My recommendations: Don't waste your time, you'd be better off watching Transmorphers (a really bad film) So stay away as far as possible.

I am pretty sure I have seen worse movies.

[stormruston · 2/10 · 26 September 2004]

This movie is delightfully bad and cheesy.I was surprised that they even used a real plane as a set in this movie.

Captain Jack Russell almost can act,Dr. Ryan can not.The supporting actors are funny and terrible...thay must be related to the production team.

The special effects are the worst I have seen for a movie made after the year 2000,these effects would have blown chunks in the 60's.

Still I watched it from beginning to end because it had a sort of hypnotic energy to it in an amateur sort of way.

I do not recommend this movie.

Gulshan Grover😁

[dzrichard · 2/10 · 23 June 2020]

Very surprised to see Gulshan Grover acting in this overacted plot. His talent is much more than the so called actors working in this movie

"Scorpions on a Plane" five years before "Snakes on a Plane"

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 4 December 2023]

Passengers & crew on a flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles have to contend with mutated scorpions inadvertently released from the cargo bay.

"Tail Sting" (2001) is an amusing creature feature on a direct-to-video budget. Armchair critics write it off as cheesy low-budget monster dreck and, I suppose, that's what it is. But at least it's legitimately funny in a droll way.

The female cast is okay with Laura Putney (Jennifer), Shirly Brener (Shannon) and Tara Price (Courtney). They coulda been utilized better.

The setting is too one-dimensional and the non-CGI effects are quaint, but there are just enough thrills for a throwaway flick with a TV budget. I can't help wonder if this was the inspiration for "Snakes on a Plane," which came out five years later.

The movie runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (going by the credits) with the opening reportedly done in New Zealand.

GRADE: C.

Scorpions on a Plane!

[filmnut1 · 4/10 · 12 March 2011]

The air disaster is one of the most popular scenarios in the disaster movie genre. There was a time when these movies had some of the biggest movie stars. Now the genre is almost exclusive to DVD and television and relies on ever more absurd hooks.

The most outrageous and high profile was Snakes on a Plane (2006), but that was only one of a series of films that saw everything from killer bees to zombies causing airborne chaos. Tail Sting has no recognisable actors and practically no budget, but it does set giant scorpions loose on an airliner in a fairly amusing and vaguely satisfactory manner.

The makers were clearly inspired by Aliens (1986), allusions are obvious throughout. Despite their size, the scorpions move covertly through the aircraft, emerging from ceilings and floors. There's a human villain prepared to accept the human death toll in order to ensure these biological weapons survive. At the finale, the plucky young heroine puts on a wetsuit with a defibrillator strapped to the back to battle with the scorpion queen.

Another interesting element is the subversion of fears about terrorism. Tail Sting was released just before September 11th when xenophobia was to run high and here there are two suspicious Middle-Eastern characters who turn out to be chasing the American dream and play a vital role in helping the all-American heroes save the day.

Tail Sting is not a spoof but it does have tongue planted firmly in cheek and it's a shame the makers didn't have the kind of budget later lavished on the more bombastic but less amusing Snakes on a Plane.

Tail Sting will Infect you with Thrills

[userray2305 · 10/10 · 3 November 2004]

When a crate of genetically-created scorpions are transported from an Australian research center to an American pharmaceutical company, the insects are accidentally exposed to unrefined air and their thyroids respond by creating fast-working growth chromosomes.

Soon, the scorpions have grown into dangerous mutant arachnids. Crippling the aircraft, they attack the crew and passengers and knock out the communications system while the Queen scorpion forces the flight crew from the cockpit. As the airplane cruises blindly in autopilot over the icy Atlantic, the control tower loses contact with them altogether...

As time runs out, land is still far away. Don't be so quick to fasten your seatbelt!

A fascinating, intriguing story.

TURBULENCE meets EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS!

[foywonder · 7/10 · 8 November 2002]

Imagine my shock about 30 minutes into TAIL STING when what seemed as though it was going to be another lame, direct-to-video "monster run amok" movie in the vein of CARNOSAUR, CROCODILE, and OCTOPUS suddenly turned into a fun, albeit dopey, monster mash. The best way to describe TAIL STING would be to call it a hybrid of a 1970s Irwin Allen disaster movie and a 1950s AIP monster movie, but with it's tongue planted firmly in cheek. It's cheap and it's illogical, but it knows this and decides to have fun with what it has to work with.

The budget was obviously quite low as the production values are of Cinemax After Dark quality. The monster scorpions themselves are brought to life through the use of old-fashioned puppetry, which while totally unrealistic, still possesses a hokey charm that is sorely lacking in modern monster movies that rely so heavily on CGI. In fact, I'm not sure there's a single computer effect in the whole film. The footage of the plane taking off, flying, and landing were all accomplished using actual footage of jumbo jets just as the atomic age sci-fi films would do.

While I would never dare to say that TAIL STING was well written or well acted, the banter between the characters does elicit some chuckles occasionally and everyone in the movie seems to be having a good time. Unlike most other films of this genre, especially the ones on a very limited budget, it doesn't make the fatal mistake of being all doom and gloom and played totally straight. The other thing that makes some of the humor work is that it's more about how the characters play off of one another and the situations they're in than instead of desperately trying to be hip in an overly self-conscious SCREAM sort of way.

And then there are the true scene-stealers, the Muslim duo and the scheming scientist. The two Muslim men, who the film at first leads you to believe could be terrorists as a red herring, are these MacGuyver-like mechanics who constantly insist that, `We can fix anything!' Not only can they rewire a 747, in a matter of minutes they manage to build a communication system out a megaphone and boombox as well as a makeshift battle suit out of a wet suit attached with defibrillators that they've supercharged. Seriously, these two are like the Professor from Gilligan's Island. I kept waiting for them to build a radio out of coconuts or a bamboo car. And then there's the scheming scientist who is responsible for freeing scorpions while trying to steal the embryos. He starts out playing the standard greedy villain, but by the midway point, he turns into an over-the-top madman with a Daffy Duck complex. It's performances like these that help make a bad movie into a fun bad movie.

Granted, everything doesn't work. The wisecracking black guy is just as annoying and unfunny as always, the stuff with the FAA isn't really needed, some scenes just fall flat, and the film is constantly at the mercy of it's very low budget. None the less, I kinda enjoyed it. So if you've got 90 minutes to kill and a few bucks to blow and you're in the mood for a campy, low budget monster movie, then you could do a hell of a lot worse than TAIL STING.

Good story crap effects

[lordzedd-3 · 1/10 · 23 September 2006]

Let's start with the good stuff about this movies, the characters are well written and the there is some major cool dialog in this movie. The actor who played the villain is the best part of this movie, I would almost give it a good review. Almost, if it wasn't for the incredibly bad scorpion effects. That's right, rotten to the core, I think I've seen better puppet effects in a car loan advert. You know the one I'm talking about, the one with the dog hand puppet. No matter how good the actors do, if the effects look like Mrs. Smith first grade art class did, it just ruins the whole movie for me. Plus what was the scorpion's problem, all they was kill, I never say any partly eaten remains or anything. Why just kill, animals, even mutant ones kill to eat. There should have been some eating of victims. Still I'd watch this over SNAKES ON A PLANE any day of the week. But I must give it the NOOSE.