Day 192: The Bay

Barry Levinson is not the first name you think of when you think of horror. He directed nostalgia fueled movies like Diner and The Natural, eventually moving into political satire with Wag the Dog. The Bay is Levinson's first stab at horror and, as such, he brings a touch of class to the proceedings.

The Bay is found footage horror assembled from a variety of sources. Over a Fourth of July weekend, a high level of pollution in a local river has triggered the development of aggressive parasites that essentially turn people into zombies. Not only is the movie an environmentalism fable, it also examines how pervasive technology has become to our lives. While the "main" plot is about a reporter and her camera man caught in the middle of the outbreak, there are half a dozen side plots taken from Facetime recordings, video recordings on smartphones and even security cameras that examine the outbreak from multiple points of view.

The smart way this movie is made makes it very watchable if not exactly scary. There are a few good creepy moments here and there but mostly the different stories reveal themselves with a sort of inevitable queasiness. I couldn't name a single actor from the movie (but some faces will no doubt look familiar). This adds to the realism factor of the whole thing.

I would give this one a solid B or even B+ if you catch me on the right day. It won't join the ranks of horror classics but it is definitely worth a watch.