Stung has wrapped: four girls trapped at a sleepover by killer bees, with Justin Long next door

If you thought the era of swarm horror was well and truly over, think again. Stung has just wrapped shooting, and it sounds delightfully mental: it's a killer bee survival flick starring Odeya Rush, Justin Long, and Iris Apatow, all under the direction of Colin Minihan—he of Grave Encounters and What Keeps You Alive. And yes, I realise bees get their own bit of horror every few decades, but this one looks like it might be trying to outdo them all with sheer scale and mayhem.

Stung finished filming entirely in Rhode Island earlier this year.

Who Gets Trapped With the Bees?

Let’s break down the set-up, since the premise is straightforward but pleasingly daft. Four teenage girls—Rush as Maya, Apatow as Jess, Annarah Cymone as Brooke, and Neela Jolene as Rachel—are having what should be a harmlessly dull sleepover in some Orange County mansion. But, because this is a horror film and not a hygiene ad, the house gets swarmed by African killer bees, trapping our leads inside for what promises to be a very sticky, very stabby night.

Justin Long’s along for the ride too, playing their 'pathetic neighbour' Derek, which doesn’t exactly sound reassuring for anyone relying on him to save the day. Also joining the carnage are Teddy Parker, Kayln Harper, James Baccile, Tom DeNucci, Kea Ho, and Rob Goon. The supporting cast list does start to overlap with 'possible victims' pretty quickly in these sorts of films, so good luck to all involved.

The Team Behind the Madness

Colin Minihan not only directs but wrote the script as well, and he’s brought back Long after their previous collaboration on the survival thriller, Coyotes. If you haven’t kept up: Minihan made his name in music videos before horror features came calling, notching up credits like Grave Encounters (with Stuart Ortiz as The Vicious Brothers), Extraterrestrial, It Stains the Sands Red, and What Keeps You Alive. Stung is his latest foray into human vs nature mayhem, and this time, he’s leaning into the primal panic of being penned in with hundreds of buzzing, venomous little psychos.

The film is co-produced by Andre Relis, Chad A. Verdi (also president of Verdi Productions), Jib Polhemus, Chad Verdi Jr., Paul Luba, and Jessica Russo, with exec producer credits for Michelle Verdi, Sera Verdi, and Anthony Gudas. VMI Worldwide is shopping the finished product around, most recently at TIFF, hoping some brave distributor will bite.

• Odeya Rush: Maya
• Iris Apatow: Jess
• Annarah Cymone: Brooke
• Neela Jolene: Rachel
• Justin Long: Derek (neighbour, unlikely hero)

Verdi, in suitably hyped-up producer tradition, insists this one’s an 'intense horror story' built around 'entertaining characters'. Minihan, for his part, thinks the real horror is being 'trapped, isolated, and attacked by something seemingly unstoppable', and he wants to use that to prod at ideas about trust, friendship, and survival. Frankly, he’s not wrong. If you’re trapped in a house with a swarm of murder bees and Justin Long as your best bet for rescue, you’ll either bond fast or die faster.