THE BAY

The Bay (15)

Director: Barry Levinson
Screenplay: Barry Levinson, Michael Wallach
Starring: Kristen Connelly, Christopher Denham

Panic feeds on fear

“The Bay” is a horror film marking a collaboration between director Barry Levinson (“Good Morning Vietnam”, “Rain Man”, & “Sphere”) and producer Oran Peli (director and guiding hand behind the “Paranormal Activity” franchise). It is shot in the style of a “found footage” movie (Wait! Come back! It’s good!) and depicts an incendiary event that affects the (fictional) small coastal town of Claridge in Maryland USA, during the 4th of July celebrations in 2009. Heavily influenced by events in a real-life counterpart town, the movie debuted at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, and has built up quite a reputation in the meantime. After a short theatrical run, it is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK.

Although the whiff of “found-footage” can turn a horror fan ashen at twenty paces these days, as it is a much used (and abused) form of narrative in genre movies, it is used remarkably well and effectively here. The whole film is made up of multiple sources of footage, from Skype, to CCTV, to hand-held cameras, and mobile phones. There are also thinly disguised versions of Facebook and Wiki-leaks. This is pieced together to form the chronological plot of the fate of Claridge, albeit with a couple of flashbacks to environmental experts who first discover the “problem” in the bay area. It’s a plot device that can (and does) work well, particularly with a director of Levinson’s skill.

The framing device for the plot is Donna Thompson (played by Kether Donahue), a reporter who was a trainee during the (expected to be) lightweight coverage of the celebrations in Claridge on that day. Speaking in the present to an unknown source on Skype, she narrates the strung-together footage, puts events into perspective, and names characters and their motives. The day and the festivities start with Crab-Eating contests and Miss Crustacean (!) making an appearance. However, we soon become aware that two divers were found recently dead with mystery wounds. People are also suddenly developing boils and rashes, vomiting blood, and wounds are suddenly appearing on their bodies. As the day progresses, the medical and law enforcement departments are over-whelmed and things get a whole lot worse when the “disease” is identified…

This is all good chilling stuff. Although there are mangled corpses aplenty and moments of body-horror that will make you wince, it’s some of the stuff that is unseen that really hits you. A 911 caller shrieks  “I just saw something real bad”, and in an especially taut sequence, a police officer enters the house of an infected family, and only the audio captures the screams and the people begging to be killed. Without spoiling things, the cause of the horror is a combination of several things, but one of these elements is the existence of the marine “Isopod”. I’ll say nothing more, but if you watch the film or “Google” the genuine animal (Cymothoa exigua), for me it’s one of the best arguments for evolution, because there’s no way anyone would create one of these little sods! Having been aware of these creatures before, I have to admit this movie pushed all kinds of the wrong buttons for me (in a sort-of good way). *shiver*

The other aspects of the movie also work well, as there are lots of nice little touches nodding to the footage aspect. Donna wonders if she shouldn't be dubbed by a voice actor. Some snippets of message text contain spelling errors (“Holly Shit – Just ate something weird!”). There are a lot of disapproving nods to authority and small-town American attitudes as well. The Mayor refuses to acknowledge that there is anything wrong until it’s far too late, and it’s the town’s inherent greediness and denial that fast-forwards the horror. One cop, amid the chaos, even mentions that he’ll get “hell at the next town meeting”. Too late for that mate! It’s also genuinely frustrating (and probably close to the truth) as to how the smug indifference of the CDC (Centres for Disease Control) and Homeland security comes across, even when the epidemic gets way out of hand and the town is basically abandoned to its own fate. It’s interesting to note Levinson’s obvious disdain of the authority figures here, and who can blame him as the roots of the story lies in a real-life environmental disaster, where the facts were covered up (research “Chesapeake Bay” conspiracy fans).

There are a couple of mis-steps. I’m not sure about the female oceanographer’s French accent (I kept expecting her to say “Leesten car-fully! I weel say zis only once…”). The film does run out of steam after the halfway-mark, and seems merely content to have some of its remaining characters fall victim to the plague, or simply creep around in the dark. But on the whole, these points do not affect the main plot and atmosphere.
A special mention also, to the non-obtrusive soundtrack by Marcelo Zarvos. It’s unusual to praise a “soundtrack” in a “found-footage” movie, but this is especially creepy and doom-laden, and adds much to the horror scenes.

I was tempted to mark it a 4/5, but the short running time (75 minutes, not including credits), slight lack of impetus towards the end, and an absence of extras on the DVD/Blu-Ray, dropped half a point for me. But it is very much recommended and well worth a purchase.

Extras: Trailer, and an 8 minute making-of Documentary. The doc does contain an interesting interview with Levinson on his motives for making the film.



An enjoyable cross between “Jaws” and “The Crazies”. The mixture of cold-hard facts and plausible body-horror makes this a chilling film with a message, that’s well worth buying. Runs out of steam little towards the end, but leaves an impression on you that will make you drink bottled water for weeks!