On the fourth of July a small American bay-side town is torn apart by a chain of events that are later covered up by the powers that be.
Nothing to do with Michael Bay, in the vein of endless supply of 'found footage' films Barry Levinson's The Bay is a hard hitting, perfectly executed, retrospective film made up of different footage after a parasitic outbreak.
Levinson's and Michael Wallach's story wears its social commentary firmly on it's sleeve - touching on (and not limited too) commercial greed, environmental rape, corrupt governments, nuclear and animal waste issues and the authorities inability to act in a crisis.
All the actors are naturalistic and the few special effects excellent. Reminiscent of the tone of Diary Of the Dead (2007) only more grounded and authentic. With a multitude of different types of filming styles The Bay somehow manages to hold your attention if only building up to and including one Paranormal Activity/Blair Witch-like scare. That said, it's not a horror per say, the story unfolds and is far more interesting and on a larger scope. The realism will certainly get under your skin as you discover what is causing the towns illness.
It maybe questionable why an acclaimed director like Levinson would want to do this style of flick as it's another shaky camera affair made-up of surveillance tapes, news reports, mobile phones and internet footage to name a few but to it's credit, and if you're into these type of films it's probably the best of its kind as it has something significant and relevant to say.
