The Bay (film)

The Bay

Theatrical film poster
Directed by Barry Levinson
Produced by Barry Levinson
Jason Blum
Steven Schneider
Oren Peli
Screenplay by Michael Wallach
Story by Barry Levinson
Michael Wallach
Starring Will Rogers
Kristen Connolly
Kether Donohue
Frank Deal
Stephen Nunken
Christopher Denham
Nansi Aluka
Music by Marcelo Zarvos
Cinematography Josh Nussbaum
Edited by Aaron Yanes
Production
company
Distributed by Lionsgate
Roadside Attractions
Release dates
  • September 13, 2012 (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • November 2, 2012 (United States)
Running time
 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,545,308[1]

The Bay is a 2012 American horror film shot in the found footage style, directed by Barry Levinson and written by Michael Wallach. It premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters on November 2, 2012.[2][3]

Plot

The film explains the footage was confiscated by the U.S. government until the anonymous source leaked the footage for the entire world to see.

On July 4, 2009, a seaside Chesapeake Bay town nestled on Maryland's Eastern Shore thrives on water. When two researchers find a staggering level of toxicity in the water, they attempt to alert the mayor, but he refuses to take action fearing that he will create a panic. As a result, a deadly plague is unleashed, turning humans into hosts for a deadly, mutant breed of the parasite Cymothoa exigua.

The entire town is overwhelmed by chaos as these aggressive creatures start infecting the people one by one. This spins off into several stories. The most prominent is that of a young inexperienced news reporter and her cameraman, who are in the town to report on the 4th of July festivities. She also explains the occurrences as the movie proceeds in an off-scene personal recording. The other stories include two oceanographers who first discovered the parasites; two on-duty police deputies investigating a residential area; a young unsuspecting couple taking a last swim; a teenage girl using FaceTime to send a desperate message to a friend; a doctor who informs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the developing situation at the local hospital; and, among others, a young married couple with an infant aboard a vessel who sail towards their family's home to reunite for the holidays, unaware of the horrific events unfolding on the mainland.

Cast

Reception

The film has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 77% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 69 reviews.[4] The consensus states that "Barry Levinson's eco-horror flick cleverly utilizes familiar found-footage methods in service of a gruesome yet atmospheric chiller". It draws a score of 65 on Metacritic, indicating generally favourable reviews.[5] David Cox of The Guardian awarded the film 5 out of 5 stars and called it a "horror film for grown ups".[6] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, however, was less positive, awarding the film a more average 2.5 out of a possible 4, stating "Although there are some scary moments here, and a lot of gruesome ones, this isn't a horror film so much as a faux eco-documentary".[7]

References

  1. ↑ "The Bay (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ Wong, Tom (September 13, 2012). "TIFF 2012: Barry Levinson’s The Bay at Midnight Madness Diaries". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Bay Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Bay (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Bay". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ Cox, David (February 28, 2013). "The Bay – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (November 7, 2012). "The Bay Movie Review & Film Summary (2012)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved June 30, 2014.

External links