Tell me a story

What’s it about? On July 4th 2009, the small bayside town of Claridge, MD experienced a strange epidemic. People suddenly began to break out in painful boils and rashes. Their bodies were being eating from the inside out. The town’s hospital quickly filled up with sick, screaming people. The only doctor there didn’t know what he was dealing with. So he called the Center for Disease Control for help. That may have been a mistake. By the end of the day the government had moved in and contained the situation. They also confiscated every single recording that had been made that day. They kept a tight lid on what happened that day. The only ones who ever knew about the horrors of the day were the survivors, but they had no proof of anything. Until now. Someone has managed to find all the footage, and they’re putting all together so that the world can know the story of that day.

The footage is narrated by first-hand witness, Donna Thompson (played by Kether Donahue). On that fateful July 4th, Donna was just a bright-eyed, television field reporter, fresh on the job. She and her camera man were on assignment that day, filming the holiday  festivities and interviewing the locals. When things started going wrong, they kept right on filming. It’s been a few years since then, and she’s only now telling the story. What plays out in this film are the events of that day as recorded by the people directly involved.

Woman in distress at hospital

TV Reporter Donna Thompson

What did I think about it? I went in expecting a scary, horror movie, but what I got was a movie that documented horrible events. It had a good premise: the reason for the outbreak was the chemical pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. I knew that going into it, and I thought it was a good idea, because it made fore a more relatable horror film since there was nothing supernatural about it.  Yet as interesting as that idea was, the movie just wasn’t scary.

One problem is that they tell us the outcome of the outbreak from the very beginning. We more or less know the course of events right away. That kills a lot of the suspense. Another problem is that the movie doesn’t focus on one character or even a group of characters. It jumps all around the town to Donna, to the mayor, to hospital, to the police officers, to just regular people. It’s really not any one person’s story; it’s the story of the epidemic. Unfortunately this means you don’t really get to care about the people experiencing all these horrible things.

The Bay has some creepy moments, and there are a couple of scenes that’ll make you jump (really only a couple). More than the scares though, the movie has a message, namely that we need to take care of our world. Polluting it without thought can have seriously devastating repercussions.

It’s possible that other people will find this scary. I don’t think it spoils much to say that the cause of the outbreak are chemically mutated parasites. They give that much away in the advertising. I just didn’t find the parasites scary, and I think it’s because there’s no malevolence behind them.  In general I think horror movies are better when you have something to run and hide from. Michael Myers is scary because he’s hulking figure that keeps following you, intent on killing you. The Paranormal Activities movies are scary because there’s a malevolent ghost in your house where you’re supposed to be at ease but where you’re most vulnerable. Zombie movies are scary because like Michael Myers they keep coming after you. Exorcism movies are scary because there’s a demon that wants to hurt you. Even a contagious plague is more scary because people can pass it on, meaning they can become malevolent and you have something to run from. There’s nothing to run from in The Bay.

All said, I wouldn’t really recommend The Bay. It doesn’t help that it gave me a headache and made me nauseous with all the shaky cam. The shakiness is not as bad as Cloverfield, but it’s close. If you do want to see it, I’d say watch it on demand. Or wait for DVD. There’s no reason to see it at theater since most of it is filmed using handheld cameras anyway, which means the picture quality is purposely not great. Still, it has a good message, and it’s not the worst movie you’ll see this year. If you do end up seeing it, let me know what you think.

The Bay
Director: Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Sleepers, Sphere)
Writer: Michael Wallach