Overlooked Sci-Fi Thriller Is An Extremely R-Rated, Modern Classic Based On Real Science

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

Thriller and horror flicks based on real-life situations tend to be the most frightening because there’s always a nagging feeling in the back of your mind that the events on screen could actually happen to you. 2012’s The Bay is one such film, especially since it was not originally meant to be a work of fiction. When director Barry Levinson was approached to make a documentary about high levels of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, he passed on the opportunity because Frontline had already recently done something similar, and in his mind that story had already been told and well received.

The Bay, which Levinson has claimed is roughly 80 percent factually accurate in terms of the science used to frame its story, takes a found footage approach to paint a much bleaker picture. I get the motivation behind that creative decision. Watching a news report about pollution does not raise enough eyebrows to get people really thinking about certain issues. Show scores of people getting eaten by parasites from the inside out as their quiet community becomes overrun with death, on the other hand, and suddenly people are paying attention because they are having a visceral experience with a fictionalized version of events.

Transcends Genre Through Its Messaging

While The Bay is billed as a found footage horror film, there is much more going on than meets the eye. We are not watching kids run through a haunted house or forest with a shaky camera. Instead, this is an ecological thriller that uses horror tropes to get its point across, and the camerawork is surprisingly solid and believable. Through live news bumpers, we get steady footage as the community of Claridge celebrates its annual Fourth of July event.

In other words, both professional and amateur reporters are documenting what should have been a perfectly normal holiday, giving the film plenty of B-roll to pull from once everything collapses. 

Framed as leaked footage the U.S. government wanted buried, we are introduced to Donna Thompson (Kether Donohue), who cannot move on with her life until she tells the story she documented. That story involves severe water contamination caused by industrial farming runoff flooding the Chesapeake Bay, creating the conditions for parasitic organisms to thrive and mutate with horrifying results.

At first, the Fourth of July celebration goes off without a hitch. There are dunk booths, kids bobbing for apples, and the annual crab-eating contest. Then, without much warning, the citizens of Claridge fall victim to a rapidly spreading outbreak. Their bodies become covered with painful lesions before whatever is inside them eats its way out of their still-living bodies in the most violent way possible.

Always Blame The Mayor 

Just like Mayor Larry Vaughn in Jaws, Mayor John Stockman (Frank Deal) in The Bay is far from innocent. He knew about the dangerously high pollution levels in the water but chose not to act, especially with an election right around the corner. His negligence results in far too many casualties for Dr. Abrams (Stephen Kunken) to handle, even on his best day. Treating hundreds of victims suffering from an unknown infection quickly becomes impossible.

Even though Dr. Abrams does everything he can, the CDC and the White House ultimately urge evacuation and shutting down the local cell towers, acknowledging that the spread has gone well past the point of no return.

The Bay gets under your skin before it bursts out of your neck. The story works because it feels familiar in the worst way. The found-footage aesthetic sells the horror, and there is nothing more unsettling than watching a once-thriving, idyllic community turn into a ghost town almost overnight. The smash cuts from small-town fair footage to total devastation create a jarring experience, and the second and third acts feature gore that will make you pause your popcorn consumption for a minute because it’s absolutely revolting. 

If you have a strong stomach and want to hear an environmental warning delivered through Barry Levinson’s willingness to push real-world ecological concerns to their most logical extreme, you can stream The Bay for free on Tubi as of this writing.