Review: ATM (2012)
Cast: Alice Eve, Josh Peck, Brian Geraghty
Director: David Brooks
Country: USA | Canada
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Official Trailer: Here
The faceless killer has been a staple of the horror genre for as long as there have been heroines trying to escape them. The formidable shape of an unidentifiable stalker speaks to our fears of the unknown and allows us to project whatever horrors we can muster onto their adaptable and mysterious psyche. Often these villains are explained to death (literally) either by the end of the film or at least by the third or fourth sequel. Although the unknown is and will forever remain the ultimate universal fear, perhaps the narrative trick of having your villain represent that fear has become old hat, as seen in the sometimes interesting, but all too often tedious ATM.
During a cold and unforgiving winter’s night, three characters are stuck in an ATM booth in the middle of a dimly lit parking lot. Lurking in the darkness is someone who wants them dead. The “who?” and “why?” are a mystery and it’s this mystery that keeps the three trapped inside the booth.
You’ll find shades of The Strangers, Seven, Saw, The Collector and perhaps most abundantly P2. Sounds like a good mix; if it were a smoothie, it’d be both delicious and nutritious.
But before getting into that, lets just be clear about one thing: this film is a borrower. It borrows from almost every major (and not major) stalker film made in the last fifteen years. You’ll find shades of The Strangers, Seven, Saw, The Collector and perhaps most abundantly P2. Sounds like a good mix; if it were a smoothie, it’d be both delicious and nutritious. However, the exciting flavour of each of those films has been impressively stripped away, leaving a stale and uninspired taste in your mouth. To top it off, Urban Legend would like its coat back.
The kills are eye-roll worthy in terms of being a little too convenient for the story, which also leads to the major question: where’s the blood? For an “R” rated horror film that’s trying to build a sense of terror, it’s important to show your audience just how vicious you can be. Almost every death is covered in a wide shot where most of the frame is hidden by shadows. The coverage of violence brings to mind the final scene in Tod Browning’s Dracula where every moment of gore is covered with a reaction shot of the heroine shrieking in terror. In a modern horror film, audiences expect to see more than images of people being terrified, they want to be terrified themselves.
For an “R” rated horror film that’s trying to build a sense of terror, it’s important to show your audience just how vicious you can be. Almost every death is covered in a wide shot where most of the frame is hidden by shadows.
Still, the film has an interesting obsession with the mysterious unknown, which is its one redeeming quality. Knowing the premise of three people being kept captive by one, you start to wonder why they don’t just overpower him since they are in greater numbers. What keeps them trapped is the unknown. The characters are continuously questioning each other and proposing different opinions as to what could be lurking in the dark just beyond the glass. It’s their own fears that keep them captive and the threat of the killer is simply a catalyst.
All in all, the film opens with a promising opening sequence that gives way to a fairly lackluster thriller. The killer has the usual malevolent genius vibe similar to Jigsaw from the Saw franchise, which is by this point becoming fairly tiresome. If you’re looking to make a withdrawal of anything beyond a few decently effective jump scares from this one, you’re likely to get a warning of insufficient funds.
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