Sting of Death

Director - William Grefe (The Psychedelic Priest, The Naked Zoo)

Starring - Joe Morrison (Safe at Home!, Flipper), Valerie Hawkins (The Beverly Hillbillies, The Delta Factor), and John Vella (The Wild Rebels, More American Graffiti)

Release Date - 1966

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "What's wackier than a living mummy?  How about a jellyfish man?"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's not often that a company like Severin Films, Synapse Films, Vinegar Syndrome, and Arrow Video release a movie on blu or UHD that I had previously seen.  Most of the releases from these amazing boutique labels are first time watches for me which is one of the many reasons I get so excited for their releases.  However, sometimes I've been lucky enough to see a movie here or there over the years and this time it just happened to be two films from the He Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefe.  The first film in the set, Sting of Death, is one I had seen before many years ago when I snagged a double feature DVD with another Grefe release.  When I saw that Arrow Video was the company behind this release I quickly turned to MVD and requested a copy which they were kind enough to send over.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a deformed man who works for a marine biologist who works in the Florida everglades.  When his boss' daughter arrives to throw a party at his home for her birthday, he finds himself the center of their jokes.  Heartbroken and emotionally abused, he turns to his boss' work where he is able to turn into a jellyfish man to seek revenge against those that mocked him.

     Sting of Death is one of those notoriously bad drive-in films that most genre fans love to mock.  However, I find it to be an extremely fun experience and the camp is part of it's charm.  I love cinema and I would have loved to be alive during the mid-60s to early 70s drive-in era when films like this were common.  It's a lot of fun but it's easy for genre snobs to mock films like this.  The acting in this one is extremely campy but I enjoyed it.  The characters are all replicas of the early 60s beach party flicks with some minor differences.  The cast is all in but their inexperience mixed with quick writing didn't give them a lot to grab onto.  With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the cast and the characters.  It's not memorable but it entertains.  The story for this one blends into the crazy monster movies of the 50s and 60s but sets itself apart from them with the strange creature instead of something predictable.  So many films during this time features various monsters, mutants, and aliens.  However, very few took the comical twist that Sting of Death did and deliver something so memorable yet unpredictable as a jellyfish man.  The story is straight forward but is remarkable because it follows the slasher formula that consists of people dying one by one by a masked killer (or creature) because they were wronged by them.  These formula would become very popular in the next 15 years but here in the mid-60s it does stand out.  Finally, the deaths are nothing that really stands out.  Most are off screen and feature some light make-up effects along with one of the cheesiest monsters in film history.  I loved how silly the jellyfish man looks but really respect it's uniqueness.  Overall, Sting of Death is not the most redeeming drive-in era monster movies but I enjoy it.  It's campy, goofy, and flows like a slasher with a fun and equally as goofy creature that I love.  I highly recommend this one.