Celebrity Nooz: ATM

ATM (2012)

Movie Title: ATM

Year Released: 2012

Rated: R

Runtime: 1h 30m

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Director: David Brooks

Writer: Chris Sparling

Starring: Brian Geraghty, Alice Eve, Josh Peck, Mike O'Brian, Robert Huculak, Ernesto Griffith, Bryan Terrell Clark, Dan De Jaeger, Omar Alex Khan, Aaron Hughes, Will Woytowich, Glen Thompson,

Review: Following the office Christmas party, a trio of co-workers stop off to grab a few bucks from an ominous ATM and become trapped inside as a mysterious maniac prowls the perimeter. Can these three unfortunate folks survive the night or will they pay with their lives at the ATM?

I like horror movies when people are stuck in a place and need to figure a way to escape to survive, like Night of the Living Dead (1968). Unfortunately, ATM is nowhere near the same league as NOTLD, and my enjoyment distracted by so many nagging questions.

You may be asking, "What questions?" Well, here they are:

1. Why do the protagonists park so far away from the ATM vestibule is the temperature is below zero and its the dead of night?

2. Why don't any of our protagonists keep their cell phones on them and conveniently, or inconveniently (unless you're the screenwriter) leave them in the car that I mentioned is parked half a football field away?

3. And when security footage is being shown to incriminate one of the captive cash-strapped characters why in the hell don't they see that the water being pumped into the small room wasn't caused by the someone other than the three inside?

4. Why in the hell would you build an ATM such as it is in the movie? Why does it appear to be in the middle of nowhere? Would such a structure be placed in a more populated area so people would be more inclined to use the ATMs? Or does it just exist so a creepy dude can taunt, torment, and kill random people that need some quick cash so that a horror movie can take place? Do such ATMs like the one in the movie actually exist? And if so, then why?

And I'm sure that there are other questions that distracted me as I watched. ATM could have been a tense, claustrophobic, shocking tale of terror, but it lacks a solid logic in the execution of the story.

The cast is quite good though, it's just a shame their talents were wasted here. Brian Geraghty is convincing as the shy guy, David. Alice Eve is charming as Emily. And Josh Peck is a reprehensible douche as Corey. Just wish the screenplay was written a little better.

ATM is shocking and suspenseful, but honestly the lack of logic amongst what the characters do and don't do really took me out of it. But that's ultimately the problem, if the characters were smarter or made more logical decisions, then the movie wouldn't happen. Shame on screenwriter Chris Sparling, he's got an interesting premise, but not a story that make a heck of a lot of sense. Not a bad movie, but one filled with baffling questions that will take you right out of it, and will have your seriously questioning its outcome.

Basically, the filmmakers just want you to watch and not think about what's happening. And when you have a movie where your protagonist need to think of a way out and attempt to do so, doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose of the movie altogether?

Stars (out of 4):

Fun Fact: The killer is wearing exactly the same outfit as the killer from Urban Legend (1998).

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