31 Nights of Halloween Horror - Night 19 - The Bay
The Bay
Dir. Barry Levinson
84 mins.
USA/2012
Been wanting to see this movie since it was released six years ago, I was a little apprehensive when I heard it was found footage, but I heard good things about it. So finally now is the time to conclude our what the hell comes out of the water double feature with The Bay.
More mockumentary directed by the guy who brought us Rain Man and Diner is more along the lines of The Poughkeepsie Tapes or Lake Mungo then a POV found footage film, so you don't have the shakey came and the unrealistic person who won't stop filming no matter what terrors are happening around them. This film uses multiple formats of footage, camera shoots, skype images, cell phone recording, TV news footage and more to compile an eco horror story about toxicity in the water levels on Chesapeake Bay and its effects on a small town in Maryland.
It starts with an exuberant amount of fish dying off. Next are the birds who feed off the fish and from there the people who come in contact with the water. No giant sea monsters in this one, instead we have a small mutated breed of an isopod parasite. And that is much worse. It starts with eating your tongue until it becomes atrophied and then takes it over and slowly eats the inside of you. Needless to say this is a gruesome movie. Skin rash, vomiting blood and ultimately death are what we have in store us with this film. There seems to be no cure and no real reason for its cause. Could be the chicken shit from a local poultry farm that has their chickens doped up on steroids. Or could be a leak from a local chemical plant or a combination of these things and more. And the scariest thing is it doesn't feel like this could be too far from the truth.
The movie follows a few different characters throughout the process, most prominently a news reporter who is our narrator of the story. We also follow two oceanographers who discover the parasites, some cops, some teens, a doctor who is trying to get help from the CDC and a young married couple with an infant baby. Most of the main story can be pieced together through how the whole situation effects each of these people personally. Ultimately the end result is not a good one in this eco horror film.
I have to say I really found myself enjoying this film. I know nothing about real science or if any of this is plausible, but it was all portrayed in a believable enough way that by the end I was thinking this may not be far from the truth. Maybe not mutated parasites eating their way out of your body, but a body of water being so contaminated by the shit we dump into it and getting people sick. Yeah that's happening. Following the characters, the gory scenes and even some jump scares made this one a winner for me. Really dug this one, when the mockumentary style works it can be very effective. Giant alligators, barracuda, giant crab like monsters and now isopod parasites. Yeah I think my ass will be staying as far away from the water as can be. Now show me a movie about a haunted pool and I am moving to the desert.
The Bay
Dir. Barry Levinson
84 mins.
USA/2012
Been wanting to see this movie since it was released six years ago, I was a little apprehensive when I heard it was found footage, but I heard good things about it. So finally now is the time to conclude our what the hell comes out of the water double feature with The Bay.
More mockumentary directed by the guy who brought us Rain Man and Diner is more along the lines of The Poughkeepsie Tapes or Lake Mungo then a POV found footage film, so you don't have the shakey came and the unrealistic person who won't stop filming no matter what terrors are happening around them. This film uses multiple formats of footage, camera shoots, skype images, cell phone recording, TV news footage and more to compile an eco horror story about toxicity in the water levels on Chesapeake Bay and its effects on a small town in Maryland.
It starts with an exuberant amount of fish dying off. Next are the birds who feed off the fish and from there the people who come in contact with the water. No giant sea monsters in this one, instead we have a small mutated breed of an isopod parasite. And that is much worse. It starts with eating your tongue until it becomes atrophied and then takes it over and slowly eats the inside of you. Needless to say this is a gruesome movie. Skin rash, vomiting blood and ultimately death are what we have in store us with this film. There seems to be no cure and no real reason for its cause. Could be the chicken shit from a local poultry farm that has their chickens doped up on steroids. Or could be a leak from a local chemical plant or a combination of these things and more. And the scariest thing is it doesn't feel like this could be too far from the truth.
The movie follows a few different characters throughout the process, most prominently a news reporter who is our narrator of the story. We also follow two oceanographers who discover the parasites, some cops, some teens, a doctor who is trying to get help from the CDC and a young married couple with an infant baby. Most of the main story can be pieced together through how the whole situation effects each of these people personally. Ultimately the end result is not a good one in this eco horror film.
I have to say I really found myself enjoying this film. I know nothing about real science or if any of this is plausible, but it was all portrayed in a believable enough way that by the end I was thinking this may not be far from the truth. Maybe not mutated parasites eating their way out of your body, but a body of water being so contaminated by the shit we dump into it and getting people sick. Yeah that's happening. Following the characters, the gory scenes and even some jump scares made this one a winner for me. Really dug this one, when the mockumentary style works it can be very effective. Giant alligators, barracuda, giant crab like monsters and now isopod parasites. Yeah I think my ass will be staying as far away from the water as can be. Now show me a movie about a haunted pool and I am moving to the desert.
Comments
Post a Comment