MUMBAI: Lionsgate has acquired U.S. distribution rights of the eco-horror thriller The Bay directed by Barry Levinson from Alliance Films.

“Ingenious genre films are and always will be a specialty at Lionsgate,” said Lionsgate motion picture group president Joe Drake. “The Bay is a shining example of the kind of truly fresh horror film that audiences are always ready for, and that we excel at eventizing with them. Thanks to Barry, we’ll all be afraid to go in the water for years to come,” he added.

The Bay unfolds in the found-footage style as it chronicles a horrifying biological disaster that arises from the Chesapeake Bay, an isopod parasite that carries an untreatable disease. As it jumps from fish to the humans in a small town, the victims capture the terror on home videos and the web.

The film has been produced by Blum, Schneider and Peli along with Levinson. Alliance, which will distribute the film in Canada, the UK and Spain, is presenting the film in association with IM global, which is handling foreign sales.