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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

MOVIE REVIEW: THE BAY




Three years after a massive government cover-up involving a parasitic outbreak in a small seaside town, a reporter unearths chilling footage that reveals the terrifying truth in this ound footage-style shocker from Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson. On July 4th, 2009, the town of Claridge, Maryland experienced an unprecedented biological disaster. An isopod parasite typically found in fish somehow found its way into a human host. As the town gathered for its annual Independence Day celebration, the parasite began to spread at unprecedented speeds, consuming its victims from the inside out. Now witness the terrifying events that unfolded that fateful holiday weekend as captured on the security cameras, mobile phones, and webcams of the people who witnessed them firsthand, but never lived to tell their stories. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Barry Levinson

Cast: Christopher Denham, Stephen Kunken, Frank Deal, Kether Donohue, Kristen Connolly

Release Date: Nov 02, 2012

Rated: Bloody Images, Language and Disturbing Violent Content

Runtime: 1 hr. 24 min.

Genres: Horror

Review:

I remember seeing the trailer for The Bay and being vaguely intrigued by it because I’m a sucker for found footage films plus Barry Levinson was directing it. Strangely it came and went with very little fanfare. Thankfully it pop up on Netflix streaming recently which, truth be told, made me wonder if it was just a bad film. I was rather surprised at how effective it was and am still rather left wondering why it was mostly ignored. The premise is kind of a hodgepodge of found footage, suppressed footage in this case, plotted with a sprinkling of Jaws and Contagion. It’s fairly graphic once the infection / infestation starts spreading. It does its job well enough to leave you feeling kind of icky afterwards and wondering about your drinking water. Its green message isn’t very subtle which might be a turnoff for folks looking for a straight up horror film. That being said it works most often than not, rarely relying cheap scares. The whole thing feels rather authentic throughout although there are a few people in the town taking the whole thing far too well. Its overall authenticity is probably aided by the fact that Isopods are real albeit living in their natural habitat, the deep ocean.

B


9 comments:

  1. Nice review... I will check it out! Thanks.

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  2. Ooh! I like the sound of this one - I will have to keep an eye!

    K :-)

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    1. I wouldn't be surprised if its on video now. I was impressed by the quality of it.

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  3. Very excited for this, not only because of the cool trailer but also because it's Barry Levinson. Looks like in terms of shooting a low-budget film, he's doing a lot better than Francis Ford Coppola. Have you seen Twixt yet?

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    1. He doesn't disappoint, I was surprised it didn't get a wider release or push considering how hot found footage flicks are.

      I haven't heard of that, is it really bad? Been a while since Coppola has made a great film so I can't say I'm surprised.

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    2. Finally seen and loved it, right up my alley. Tense and creepy from start to finish.

      Twixt isn't bad, but considering it's made by the great FFC, it's a letdown. Still, worth checking out, especially because of funny performances by Val Kilmer & Bruce Dern.

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  4. I had no idea that Levinson did this one. Makes me want to see it even more. Wow.

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    Replies
    1. I thought it was strange when I saw his name attached, personally I thought did fairly well in this genre

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