The Bay (2026) Review – Dishwater Dull Plunge Into Boredom

Welcome to Knockout Horror and to yet another shark horror movie review – The Bay (2026). Can you believe it? This is, like, the 7th or 8th killer animal horror this year. Us creature feature fans are really spoiled… Or, we would be if most of them weren’t utter shite. I bet you can guess where The Bay falls on that scale. Let’s take a look.

This Has Been a Wild Year for Killer Creatures

I feel like I have to emphasise that point once more – 2026 has seen a whole bunch of killer creatures absolutely mauling everything that comes their way. We’ve had killer whales living up to their namesake, hungry hungry hippos swallowing people whole, grizzly bears on the rampage, cheeky monkeys chewing off faces, and so many sharks that even Asylum Movies would blush a little.

What a damn shame that only about two of those movies are actually any good. Let’s be honest, most of us who seek out these films know they are going to suck but we still watch them anyway. My long suffering fiancee knows all about that. She’s managed to escape the room before the majority of these films started but that wasn’t the case with The Bay.

In fact, she even pointed out that she had forgotten to tell me about this one which, being perfectly honest, I sort of doubt. I think she would have kept it a secret as long as possible to avoid being subjected to another terrible shark flick.

A familiar face in the world of soggy horror

The Bay is directed by Phil Volken who you may know for the damp, sea-based thriller movie Dead Sea. He spent the majority of that movie making sure that the camera was firmly placed as close to Isabel Gravitt’s butt-cheeks as possible but he’s dialed things back a bit, here. There’s no such thigh-staring.

“If you are looking for easy shark thrills, light entertainment, or even some camp silliness, you aren’t going to find it here. This movie is dishwater dull. “

The plot sees best friends Emma (Francesca Eastwood) and Lani (Dani Oliveros) heading out on a shark tour boat in Thailand, only to find themselves at the mercy of the sea as their boat begins to take on water.

Another familiar face from Dead Sea also features pretty heavily here as Alexander Wraith plays the boat’s captain Mandal. As far as shark movie plots go, The Bay’s is about as generic as they come.

We have a very limited cast, an absolutely tiny boat, and a couple of angry tiger sharks that are not very happy about Mandal having the temerity to allow his boat to start sinking in their waters. Where The Bay differs from other similar b-movies is in the fact that is laboriously paced and utterly boring.

Seriously, if you are looking for easy shark thrills, light entertainment, or even some camp silliness, you aren’t going to find it here. This movie is dishwater dull.

It’s barely even a shark movie

The vast majority of The Bay’s runtime is focused on the human drama taking place on the boat as our limited cast clash personalities. This is quite a common theme in low budget shark films but it’s to a level that I haven’t actually seen before, here.

“This is far closer to a human drama movie with slight thriller leanings than it is to anything creature feature related.”

At least the first half of the film consists purely of the characters trying to scoop water out of their boat to stop it from sinking. This goes on for ages and the only thing really helping to prop the narrative up during this time is the promise that, eventually, the boat will sink and the cast will become shark chum.

When said boat does eventually take on a bit too much water to stay properly afloat (it never actually fully sinks), the shark attacks are infrequent and rather milquetoast. In fact, the real villain in this movie isn’t a shark at all. It’s one of the cast.

It’s woefully disappointing stuff for anyone looking to see some toothy carnage and I found it very difficult to actually stay properly engaged with the plot. Moments of action are sparse and, all too often, Volken chooses to opt for shouting matches instead of genuinely compelling storytelling.

This is far closer to a human drama movie with slight thriller leanings than it is to anything creature feature related. The sharks are a minor part of the film.

Very difficult to recommend

It’s difficult to even commend the character writing, here. Everyone is pretty damn unlikable.

“The only narrative highlight comes towards the end where the movie becomes a bit of a bloodbath.”

Emma is a rather obnoxious and immature woman who looks middle aged but acts like a teenage brat. Lani is underdeveloped and only really has a chance to stand out when she is making some of the dumbest decisions in shark movie history. Mandal is woefully incapable and seems to fail at literally everything he tries.

It’s rather baffling, to be honest, as the scant number of cast members mean that we are going to be stuck with these guys for a long time. The least we could have asked is for them to be remotely likeable.

The only narrative highlight comes towards the end where the movie becomes a bit of a bloodbath. A number of character deaths in quick succession and a stern head beating at least afford us a somewhat satisfactory payoff.

On the plus side, acting is okay. Some of the shark footage is pretty neat and there isn’t an overuse of terrible CGI here. The Thai scenery is pretty stunning but, unfortunately, the cinematography is too bland to make much of it.

If you are looking for a decent 2026 shark movie, your only really strong option is Deep Water. The Bay is not going to scratch that itch and represents another disappointingly dull plunge into the abyss.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.