The Bay

The opening text reveals that government footage of the outbreak was confiscated and kept under wraps until an anonymous source released it to the world. The leaked material shows a town in chaos as residents fall gravely ill and spectacle of the crisis unfolds. This sets the documentary-style tone for the rest of the film.

A few months before the outbreak, two oceanographers find dangerously high toxicity levels in the Chesapeake Bay. They observe fish dying from the inside out, indicating a biological threat rather than ordinary pollution. Their findings foreshadow the calamity to come.

The scientists trace the toxins to the local chicken farm, where excrement and other waste are dumped into the water. Steroids used to speed growth contribute to the proliferation of isopods in the bay. The pollution creates a perfect storm for the parasite to spread.

Despite the scientists' warnings, the mayor withholds action, dismissing the danger and delaying protective measures. This inaction allows the pollution and the dangerous isopods to spread unchecked. The town's leadership undermines early containment efforts.

Donna Thompson, a rookie reporter, covers a local Fourth of July celebration as the crisis unfolds. Soon, dozens of residents fall ill with lesions and other alarming symptoms. The scene marks the media's entry into the escalating disaster.

Dr. Jack Abrams, head of Atlantic Hospital, calls the CDC as the outbreak rapidly worsens. The CDC initially suspects a viral outbreak and advises containment and evacuation, but the situation quickly proves more complex than a simple virus. The hospital strains under the mounting patient load.

Several citizens, including a teenager named Jennifer, use FaceTime to report symptoms that suggest members feel bugs crawling inside their bodies. The footage underscores the grotesque progression and the rapid spread of the infection. It becomes a chilling firsthand account of the outbreak.

The isopods mutate and feed on their hosts from the inside out, collapsing local fish populations and turning a large portion of the Chesapeake Bay lifeless. The water's toxicity and the isopod burden intensify as the outbreak spreads. The ecological collapse mirrors the human crisis in Claridge.

The Talmet family — Alex, Stephanie, and infant Andrew — sail into Claridge unaware that the town is under forced quarantine and its communications are shut down. They inadvertently enter the outbreak zone and become entwined in the town's escalating danger. The infection also reaches Stephanie's parents.

Two deputies, Jimson and Paul, respond to a distressing call and encounter an infected family begging to be killed. Jimson euthanizes them under pressure and is bitten, leading him to murder Paul in a subsequent to-the-edge of sanity escalation. The scene shows how quickly law enforcement fractures under the outbreak.

Stockman confronts the deteriorating situation and ends up killing Roberts; he escapes in Roberts' police car but dies in a collision as he tries to flee. The sequence marks a collapse of leadership as the town spirals toward total breakdown. The death of Stockman seals the town's descent into chaos.

The CDC learns that Claridge's water has a substantial radioactive rating, elevating the perceived risk. They inform the White House and demand a coordinated response, but the staff orders evacuation and withdrawal instead of direct aid. The federal response is portrayed as slow and constrained.

The DHS reveals they had received the oceanographers' warning but withheld action to avoid panic, mismanaging critical intelligence. This choice delays lifesaving intervention and contributes to the disaster's scale. The incompetence of federal agencies becomes a central point in the narrative.

Donna and her cameraman Jim Hoyt continue to document the carnage even as the station blog is shut down by the FBI. Donna later reveals she fled Claridge and that Jim died, underscoring the personal cost of reporting the truth. Years later, she releases the footage to expose the truth.

Alex dies after isopods crawl from his neck while Stephanie escapes with Andrew; a still-living woman is found and killed by Stephanie, illustrating the brutal toll of the outbreak. The government ultimately kills the isopods by filling the water with chlorine and covers up the incident, paying survivors for silence. The film ends with civilians unknowingly enjoying bay water while 40% of the bay remains lifeless.