ATM (2012)

Strong and Moving!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

David (Brian Geraghty) is a shy stock investor. Co-worker Emily (Alice Eve) is perhaps equally shy. On her last day of work, David works up the courage to ask her out. She agrees and also agrees to let David drive her home. The problem is there is a third wheel, mutual co-worker Corey (Josh Peck) who needs a ride and is hungry. They agree to grab a bite at a unique all night place that only accepts cash. They must first visit a remote ATM. Time and temperature are flashed for us to set the tone: 1:18 AM, -3F. The three are in the ATM.Outside the ATM, is a man assuming the "Jason pose." He brutally murders another man in the parking lot. The trio is afraid to venture out and I am thinking...did they just remake an ATM version of "Frozen"?For some undisclosed reason the killer doesn't try to enter the ATM. You will find out more, or less at the ending. If you liked "Frozen" or "Altitude" (and I didn't) you might try ATM.1 f-bomb, no sex or nudity.

This movie is the most stupid thing I have ever watched. I thought it this movie will be good boy was I wrong. I thought it should be good because Josh from Drake and Josh is in it, I liked him in Drake and Josh and he was a good actor but boy I was wrong. The ideas for the movie was good but some of the elements were a loss of crap.

As about a million folks here have made clear, this film really takes the suspension-of-disbelief bit a tad into the next galaxy. Fortunately I only watched it while playing a word game. Which was much more thrilling than ATM. Director. Writer. You are obligated to plausibly account for why 3 people in bitter cold would park a hefty distance away from the ATM, and why the same 3 do not consider running away at any point, which they could easily do. There is ONE unarmed psycho out there (who, by the way, telepathically knows that his 3 imminent victims happen to not have their cell phones on them, which is extremely unlikely but which allows him to murder the comically sacrificial security guard in front of them). I'm actually fine with no explanation of the psycho's motives, although his residence choice (a storage locker) is questionable. Everything else, however, is just plain beyond ridiculous, even down to the police completely ignoring the survivor's desperate attempt to point out the killer, and there were a lot of police. This could have been a good thriller. All it needed was writing that obeyed the most basic laws of physics and probability.

I'm not going to lie--I was nervous going into this film. Not because of a disdain for horror, mind you, I'm a fan of the genre, but rather due to the overwhelming amount of 1 and 2 star reviews the film has, combined with the appalling critical reviews of the film. I can safely say I'm glad I checked this film out, though. I'd be lying if I said the film didn't have a plot hole or two; or even moments that are downright stupid for that matter, but I enjoy it. One of the joys of being a horror fan is the diversity available to viewers. You're never locked in to what you have to watch, but rather what you want to watch. This film isn't "A Nightmare on Elm Street" by any stretch. This film falls more in-line with "Nightmare on Elm Street 2"--meaning it has a lot of promise but fails the execution in various ways. Being someone who grew up watching Josh Peck in programs like "The Amanda Show" and "Drake & Josh", I was expecting a standard performance by Peck. I was rather pleased when I discovered that in this film he curses, smokes, and drinks; a far cry from his early days. As for plot, the story is simple: three people are in ATM booth when a psychopath traps and tortures them. It doesn't cover any ground that "Phonebooth" didn't already tread, just with a campier and more horrific execution. Going into this film expecting it to be a masterpiece on par with the works of Hitchcock or Craven will leave you sorely disappointed. You'll find a much more enjoyable time can be spent with the film when it's properly acknowledged as a fun, slightly campy, yet dark and serious horror flick.