It's the Fourth of July in a small town on the Eastern Coast of America, which means sun, fun and plenty of people flocking to the water. But something dangerous lurks beneath the playful waves and swimming tourists. This is how my favorite horror film Jaws begins, and in its wake many more frightening tales found their inspirations in the murky depths of oceans, lakes and even rivers. But now the latest feature from Barry Levinson (Sphere, Wag the Dog) takes terror to a dark new depth with The Bay.
Centered in a charming Maryland town on the Chesapeake Bay, this freaky feature blends elements of horror and sci-fi to create a cinematic concoction that's terrifying and nauseating. What lurks in the bay that's killing all the fish? It's a new breed of parasite that slides into water-frolicking humans and eats its way out. That's right, this threat is literally coming from within. Get a look at this gruesome fall thriller with the trailer below, or check it out in hi-res at Apple:
With a premise that also includes a mayor who ignores experts' warnings of danger in the water—in this case an ecological disaster—the ties to Jaws are obvious, but with their slithering organ-eaters Levinson and screenwriter Michael Wallach also bring in elements of outbreak horror, zombie horror and body horror subgenres to craft a ghastly blend of stomach-churning terror. But count on Levinson to lay some allegory into his creepy feature. While it seems like an ideal summer release, The Bay will be hitting theaters and iTunes on November 2nd, following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next week, which could mean there's much more to chew on than you might typically expect from a creature feature.
