MovieChat Forums > The Bay (2012) Discussion > Can anybody explain how...(SPOILERS!)

Can anybody explain how...(SPOILERS!)

posted 11 years ago by marfrie56
8 replies | jump to latest

SPOILER ALERT!
How do these parasites actually enter the body? These are crustaceans. I can understand how it would enter a fish's mouth. But here, this thing starts as a rash, then turns into boils, then your tounge falls out, then your arm falls off, then you're dead and the bugs crawl out of you.
How in blazes can a rash do that? Is this a bacterial infection (as they said at first) or parasites, or both? Rubbish. Complete rubbish. People are swimming, then they start screaming, then they are dead - but why? WHY WHY WHY??? How do these ugly bastards kill you while you're swimming. Didn't the producers think we deserve any kind of an explanation?
And there are threads here where people are saying this movie is plausible. Please. By the way I kind of liked it. But there is NO explanation. At first they are on the dock in a crab eating contest. Then they start puking and dying.
Okay - I can understand it if it's a bacterial infection. Fine and dandy. Then it's a different movie about a sickness - except this one is about big bugs inside you. Now how do the big bugs get into you? Huh? Starts as a rash, winds up as an infection of isopods inside you, eating your organs. Totally ridiculous.
Oh yeah - and why does the cop that goes into the hous and got infected, shoot his friend cop and then himself? No reason. Why not, I guess.
See the movie Thaw. Kind of along the same lines, much scarier, and much more plausible.

[–] Benjen_Snark 11 years ago

The parts that you mentioned were all at different stages of the parasites growth cycle. From what I gathered - people who entered the water with cuts or scrapes, or who drank the water - the parasitic larvae entered. As the larvae matured and became the isopods, the rashes and boils begun as a symptom of the isopods eating the host from the inside out. The tongue was eaten by the isopods that were inside the throat and digestion tract.

Eventually, the isopods became fully grown, and then exited the host body by eating through it entirely to return to the water - where I would assume they would mate and begin the cycle again. The scene where the two teenagers died in the water was because they were feasted on by fully grown isopods, NOT the larvae that infected the main population of the town in the movie.

We're all stories in the end

[–] ravensdestiny_28 11 years ago

Because I can't remember what the parasites were actually called, I'm going to refer to them as "bugs". It's just easier.

How do these parasites actually enter the body? Now how do the big bugs get into you?

The parasites were entering people in the larva stage, so they were much smaller than the full grown bugs we seen emerging from the dead and what they pull out of the fishes mouth. Once inside the larvae begin to quickly eat and grow. They did mention that the growth rate was extremely fast. They could have entered the body in a few different ways. The people were drinking, showering, bathing, cooking with water from the desalination plant which drew water directly from the bay. It was mentioned in the movie the larvae could easily have been getting through the filters. They also had misters going at the celebration which was shooting water all over people. They were probably drinking water and things such as lemonade and iced tea made with the water. Even if you did not drink the water or accidentally get any in your mouth the larvae could still enter the body through your nose, eyes, ears or any cuts you might have. In the case of the rash it may have been a side effect of the larvae entering through the bodies pores, the larvae hatching just under the skin, or the bodies own defense trying to kill the invading parasite.

Is this a bacterial infection (as they said at first) or parasites, or both?

I think the mention of a bacterial infection was because at first they had no idea what they were dealing with. Because at first they only noticed lesions on the body their first thought was it had to be some sort of infection and that is why the Dr. called the CDC.

How do these ugly bastards kill you while you're swimming.

The people that were swimming that died right away were being eaten by fully grown adult bugs. Remember the girl acts like she feels a few things biting her before being fully attacked and killed. The narrator also explains this when we see the diver being attacked that it is the full grown crustaceans that attacked him.

At first they are on the dock in a crab eating contest. Then they start puking and dying.

I think it's safe to assume the crab they were eating came directly out of the bay. It would have been riddled with the larvae. Or it was kept in or cooked in water that was invaded. What didn't make much sense is why cooking the crab would not have killed off the larvae. Perhaps the contestants were drinking water during the contest as many do in food contests such as that. I don't remember if there was water near them or not.

and why does the cop that goes into the hous and got infected, shoot his friend cop and then himself?

We can assume two things here. One, the cop that went into the house and saw people being eaten alive and begging for him to kill them went a little crazy after witnessing man eating bugs crawling out of people and actually shooting people and killing them, no matter what condition they were in it can't be easy to just kill people. I'm sure he heard the reports from all over the town of people sick, dying, bleeding, screaming, injured and probably thought it was the end of the world. It's safe to say he himself now was going to die. If I remember right he was very bloody when he emerged. He probably figured it was better to shoot the other officer, thinking he would be subjected to the same horrors of being eaten alive. He may have thought he was doing the other office a favor by killing him. He then shot himself to end his own suffering before the bugs killed him. Another scenario could be that the bugs had begun eating his brain rendering him in a delusional state and he shot the other officer.

And there are threads here where people are saying this movie is plausible.

The movie is plausible in a few ways. It was not too long ago thousands of dead fish and birds were turning up with no explanation given. While I don't think people mean this exact parasite outbreak could happen, it's not impossible for an outbreak of a virus to happen that is man made. The whole purpose of this movie was to expose the truth that the government covered up what happened in the town. The FBI shut down blogs and all camera's and video were confiscated after the event. While some might think it's unlikely it's very plausible that our government, or any other countries government, would try to cover up a similar situation, especially if the outbreak was man made or the fault of the government. Remember, they talked quite a bit about the chickens and the chicken poop so close to the water but the town officials never did anything to remedy that and just ignored it. There was also mention of a small radioactive leak into the bay but people were told it was nothing to worry about. They could have been lied to about that. If these bugs were indeed that radioactive the appearance of boils or blisters would appear on the people's skin as the radiation passes through the skin.

[–] marfrie56 11 years ago

I can see you put a lot of time and thought into your reply - but the fact is - it is a HUGE stretch of the imagination that these bugs (isopods) could have a life-cycle anything close to what you have described. Parasites are not viruses. These bugs are thousands of times larger. In fact these bugs (isopods) actually do exist (as we all know) and their real life-cycle is nothing like what the movie portrays at all. They emerge from their host fully developed (not as larvae) as small versions of adult isopods. They are not microcrobes that can enter a person through their pores or ears, passing through their skin or somehow winding up inside you.
Add to this the other outlandish outcomes - doctors seeing people dying because their organs are being consumed by parasites they don't see or bother to notice - blackbirds falling from the sky in thousands, infected by ocean dwelling isopods - calling this movie plausible is a real stretch. Funny thing, though, I did enjoy the movie.

[–] Lifeguardfan 11 years ago

The isopods were growing at a rapid rate because of the steroids found in the chicken excrement that was flowing into the bay.

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[–] MiyazakiMina 10 years ago

How long do you think it takes the common housefly from larval to fully adult stage? And there are insects that have a much quicker life cycle. It is not far fetched at all (although unrealistic, that is true).

[–] hawkychico-1 10 years ago

I did enjoy the movie too but because of the potential. It had way too many plot holes. It should have a remake but only without the found footage and way less plot holes. s. Really there is no explanation to anything because the missed the boat. I did like it though because it was a great idea. Here are a few of the many plot hole:

1. Why wasn't there early cases of the parasite? You would think that people swimming and drinking the water there would be some early cases.
2. What was the point of the news reports of all the dead fish and birds. It would have been better if they used it as a closing as a current event as opposed to something that happened before the outbreak. You would think water and the parasite would have been discovered.
3. How can the government possibly cover up a whole town being killed off? Why would it matter to even cover it up? You would think they would want to warn people and create precautions.
4. So your telling me that two teenagers disappear and they find a camera of them getting attacked and there was no investigation? Not to mention the attack occurred way before the outbreak and if there were that many of the critters to make it like Piranha then more people would have died a lot sooner. This is also after the oceanographers. The bay would have been closed off.
5. The silly reporter girl washed her face and had blood drip on her and she didn't get it? That was kind of dumb.
6. How did the doctor not see the parasite early when he was amputating. Were there no x-rays taken of people? it would have been clear they were infested early on. Plus, some people had it visibly crawling under their skin.
7. The dentist and his wife get off a boat. No cell reception and the see a dead body along with a vacant tourist town on the fourth of July so they walk into town? I would think to get back on the boat and head up to the next town and get help.
8. The CDC wouldn't be doing a teleconference. They would head in with their doctors. CDC doesn't twiddle their thumbs and look for answers on Google.
9. The town got a pay off to stay silent but the reporter didn't? Who the hell got $ because everyone seemed pretty dead to me. I didn't see any survivors running around except the dentist wife and the reporter. It was also funny because the Mayor didn't get the parasite or at least not yet. he died in a car crash. He drank a nice big glass of water at the festival. The sheriff didn't have it either.
10. The CDC tells you to get out while your not infected and the doctor stays anyway. I think a smart doctor would take the advice of the CDC when they say "I am surprised you don't have it yet. You and staff should leave." You haven't saved a patient yet and you know they are right but you stay anyway Plus, everyone outside of the hospital had the parasite crawling out of them. Yet the people in the hospital just died with out no visible parasitic crustaceans.

[–] MiyazakiMina 10 years ago

Do not get me wrong, i did not think it was a great movie or anything, but so far the points brought up as negatives did not bother me so much. I mean it of course has plot holes, but it IS meant to be pretty mindless entertainment (i guess, no idea what the makers had in mind). As such it served it's role i think.

As to your points, let me try to answer some:

1. Why wasn't there early cases of the parasite? You would think that people swimming and drinking the water there would be some early cases.

I think there were early cases, but they were dismissed by everybody as freak accidents. Nobody thought to look for parasites.

2. What was the point of the news reports of all the dead fish and birds. It would have been better if they used it as a closing as a current event as opposed to something that happened before the outbreak. You would think water and the parasite would have been discovered.

That ties into 1. maybe. Could also be a very ham fisted comment on how we treat our environment and how animals dying off are early warning signs that something it wrong.

3. How can the government possibly cover up a whole town being killed off? Why would it matter to even cover it up? You would think they would want to warn people and create precautions.

Yeah, that IS one plot hole. Nobody had enough pull to cover it up, or even want to. Biggest dude was the mayor/chicken farmer, and he died anyway.

4. So your telling me that two teenagers disappear and they find a camera of them getting attacked and there was no investigation? Not to mention the attack occurred way before the outbreak and if there were that many of the critters to make it like Piranha then more people would have died a lot sooner. This is also after the oceanographers. The bay would have been closed off.

Well, the movie wants us to believe this is part of the cover up.

5. The silly reporter girl washed her face and had blood drip on her and she didn't get it? That was kind of dumb.

Parasite infection is not 100%. Maybe her immune system was able to deal with the few that got in? Or just dumb luck. Not a problem in my eyes. Maybe water was from a clean source, and the blood did not have any larvae in it (not every single blood cell can have them, that would be overkill). Or the blood did not get into her system and the larvae died... I mean this really did not bother me.

6. How did the doctor not see the parasite early when he was amputating. Were there no x-rays taken of people? it would have been clear they were infested early on. Plus, some people had it visibly crawling under their skin.

Agreed, but that is just typical movie dumbness for sake of plot. The doctor WAS calling the CDC, but by then it was too late.

7. The dentist and his wife get off a boat. No cell reception and the see a dead body along with a vacant tourist town on the fourth of July so they walk into town? I would think to get back on the boat and head up to the next town and get help.

Agreed again, but stupid people do stupid things. A staple of horror movies (but it still annoys me, since that is lazy writing).

8. The CDC wouldn't be doing a teleconference. They would head in with their doctors. CDC doesn't twiddle their thumbs and look for answers on Google.

Again agreed, but maybe in the movie universe that was not actually the CDC but a cover up operation already going?

9. The town got a pay off to stay silent but the reporter didn't? Who the hell got $ because everyone seemed pretty dead to me. I didn't see any survivors running around except the dentist wife and the reporter. It was also funny because the Mayor didn't get the parasite or at least not yet. he died in a car crash. He drank a nice big glass of water at the festival. The sheriff didn't have it either.

That was just the movie makers covering up a plot hole with a lesser plot hole. Adress what happens to everybody we did NOT see get killed. Also, as above i assume that number of ingested parasites plays a role. Or maybe not all water came from the same source.

10. The CDC tells you to get out while your not infected and the doctor stays anyway. I think a smart doctor would take the advice of the CDC when they say "I am surprised you don't have it yet. You and staff should leave." You haven't saved a patient yet and you know they are right but you stay anyway Plus, everyone outside of the hospital had the parasite crawling out of them. Yet the people in the hospital just died with out no visible parasitic crustaceans.

Well, doctors (and most medical personal) are sworn to the Hippocratic oath, which means you have to help, no matter what, if you can. The doc stayed maybe because he already was infected and knew as much. There were no nurses or other docs when he made the final transmission. As to the deaths of the others, i do not know...

Please keep in mind, i am not defending this movie in any way, i just have fun closing plot holes in my mind with somewhat reasonable explanations. I know they are far fetched and not spelled out, but that is enough for me. Things that annoy me about movies are just bad plots, bad acting, bad storytelling. I can forgive plot holes, as long as they make in-universe sense. And as you can see, sometimes it can be fun to close these holes with in-universe explanations as well :)

I did not think this was lower than a 4 (of 10), but not better than a 5. Okay time waster, but could have been better and will be forgotten in a few weeks. (Unless i again will have such a great time discussing it here :)

[–] mel2000 8 years ago

1. Why wasn't there early cases of the parasite? You would think that people swimming and drinking the water there would be some early cases.

Two oceanographers were directly attacked by adult parasites about two months prior to the outbreak. Keep in mind that the bay was highly polluted with chicken farming effluent and was probably not a first choice for most swimmers. The larvae in the drinking water had to take time to grow.

4. So your telling me that two teenagers disappear and they find a camera of them getting attacked and there was no investigation?

We can't say for sure when their camera was discovered. I suspect it was found after a connection was made to their disappearance and an investigation was launched.

5. The silly reporter girl washed her face and had blood drip on her and she didn't get it? That was kind of dumb.

During her interview at the end of the movie she makes it clear that not everyone got sick.

6. How did the doctor not see the parasite early when he was amputating. Were there no x-rays taken of people? it would have been clear they were infested early on. Plus, some people had it visibly crawling under their skin.

Cut the doc some slack. He was swamped with cases that day and obviously had little time for lab biopsies. Yet he still made the connection to parasites on the same day he saw his first patient.