100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 26: The Bay

Director: Barry Levinson

Genre: Horror/ Thriller

Runtime: 82 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Kristen Connolly, Christopher Denham, Jane McNeill, Kether Donohue, Tim Parati, Andy Stahl, Michael Beasley, Anthony Reynolds, Justin Welborn, Lauren Cohn, Robert C. Treveiler, Stacy Rabon, Jody Thompson, Jack Landry, Andrew R. Kaplan, Stephen Kunken, John Harrington Bland, Dave Hager, James Patrick Freetly, Kenny Alfonso, Tara Polhemus, Alisa Harris

Description: Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.

Review: Barry Levinson, known for his movies “Rain Man” and “Wag the Dog”, decided to make a low budget movie for a change, in the form of a found footage horror flick. And it turned out to be a surprisingly scary movie.

Levinson actually wanted to make a documentary about the polluted water in Chesapeake Bay, but got the idea of a fictional horror film along the way. The actual facts were used as the starting point of the story.

We’ve seen stuff like it before, but the realistic touch make the horror element stronger present. It’s a lot more shocking then when it was filmed in a more conventional way.

Found footage films are very popular nowadays, especially in the horror genre. From that point of view, this might not be as original. But the sources are very different. We get footage from security cameras, phones and regular cameras. Sometimes it’s a bit convenient that some situation are filmed from so many perspectives.

Sometimes Levinson uses standard and predictable shock effects, but the realistic touch and the heartbreaking moments the people go through make you forgive the clichés. There is one scene that really stands out and you actually don’t see what happens. Just the sounds and voices give you chills.

Sadly the movie misses and actual climax, the film just stops. But overall “The Bay” is an excellent horror movie.

Rating: 3,5/ 5