Director Barry Levinson returns to his native Maryland for “The Bay,” which unfortunately is not part of the delightful series of autobiographical films he began with “Diner.”
Instead, the Oscar-winning director of “Rain Man” — whose last film, the abysmal documentary “PoliWood” never went much further than the Tribeca Film Festival — demonstrates he can make a shakycam found-footage horror movie every bit as fake-looking, clumsy and unscary as your average college student working on a $200 budget.
Distantly based on fact and Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,’’ and narrated by a young TV reporter (Kether Donohue), it offers supposedly suppressed footage showing a fictional Chesapeake Bay town where the mayor (Frank Deal) has been covering up environmental issues.
“The Bay’’ takes place entirely on July 4, 2009, when hundreds succumb to gory attacks by mutant isopods triggered by chicken excrement and runoff from a nuclear reactor. You probably won’t want to order crabs for dinner afterward.