As I was writing about The History of Future Folk last week, I realized that I have watched several of the films that Pete and Andy have selected as their trailer pick of the week. Many of their picks are films that are high profile, and which you most likely have seen or put in your rental queue. Some of them were smaller or more fringe films that may not have come to a theater near you or you completely forgot about it after listening to the episode.
Today I launch a new series – Trailer Rewind – in which I review some of the lesser known or recognized films from Pete and Andy’s weekly trailer picks. This week I’ve got a pick that falls in place with their current series – found footage films.
The Bay – trailer pick from episode 54 – Bullit, from November 1, 2012.
Although The Bay is often considered a “found footage” film it is actually an assemblage of various sources of film to chronicle the events of one day – July 4, 2009. The reason that it may be categorized as found footage is that all of the footage is sourced from recordings from within the events of July 4, 2009. The result is a film that feels more like a documentary than a dramatic fictional narrative, much like found footage films.
The Bay focuses on an outbreak of a mysterious disease or infection that results in the deaths of thousands of people during the course of the day. What sets The Bay apart from other found footage films is the use of various sources, which allows for multiple story threads including a police car dashboard camera, several surveillance and webcams at the local hospital, and the main story of Donna Thompson, a communications student covering the 4th of July holiday events.
One of the flaws of the film is the failed balance of found footage horror film with the cautionary tale concerning environmental pollution. The Bay attempts to educate and scare simultaneously and is not able to strike the proper balance.
Fans of found footage films may be interested in The Bay for its use of multiple sources of footage. It’s an interesting attempt to broaden the scope of story that can be told in a found footage film.
If you’re not a fan of found footage films, you will be disappointed that the filmmakers restricted themselves in their attempts to try something new within the found footage style. Ultimately these restrictions limited what could have been an interesting environmental horror film.