In my own opinion, one of the few sucker-or-effective techniques in scaring the audience is to develop fear in a tightly claustrophobic setting. It has worked in a couple of infamous movies like 'The Shining' in which a family is trapped inside a hotel during winter. There is also '[REC]', a found-footage Spanish zombie film in which many people were enveloped in a building and escape is an impossibility. There is the recent 'Buried', a personally asserted B-movie starring Ryan Reynolds which laid Reynold's best performance before my eyes. The recent film from debuting director David Brooks, 'ATM', falls into the claustrophobia sub-genre, but not in the category of a "very good" film.
When you enter an ATM booth, your savings balance might be the biggest fear to witness. Like a bank account owner, 'ATM', I'm fearful is out of its balance.
I remember Brian Geraghty. He's that unforgivably dumb potential boyfriend to Camillia Belle in 'When a Stranger Calls', a movie I won't even approve as a "good" one, really. He now stars as David in a claustrophobic and atmospheric thriller, 'ATM'. David is an accountant accompanied by an obnoxious best friend Corey (Josh Peck). David secretly crushes on a colleague (Emily played by Alice Eve) who appears to him doesn't crush on him back. Due to Corey's excessive douchery, he had convinced his "good boy" pal to attend the company Christmas party. Corey's reason: find him some of them bitches.
Turned out, David is the one who scored a ride home with his long-time crush. Just moments before leaving...what do you know? The obnoxious douchey friend tags along and decides to get some cash from his bank account. Of all the ATM kiosks he could have chosen, he chose the oddly isolated one. The brooding setting was in a remote parking lot surrounding a 24-hour ATM booth. Upon withdrawing, the three finds a man standing outside the booth. The man, in a winter coat, is a foreboding figure under the nighttime sky. He only stiffens in his position in a few moments; a stranger waves a hand at the man in the winter coat. Soon enough, the stranger appeared head fractured. It took this killing to have the three realize the terror that they are about to face.
The claustrophobia in one of the recent thrillers, 'Buried' was apparently a tool that helped the movies some tons. Perhaps, the filmmakers behind 'ATM', having one member who knew the formula, writer of 'Buried': Chris Sparling, used the "tool" in the hopes of making another good claustrophobic film. In 'ATM' however, the characters (with the exception of Corey) were too bland to be absorbed and the narrative were filled with gaping plot holes to even stay on. There was one scene in particular in which a security guard dropped by the kiosk. Our protagonists hopefully calls for him for some help, but it takes us very little knowledge to determine the fate of the security guard: face down and face smashed.
It doesn't necessarily mean that, while the execution are tormenting, and the characters were damn inconsistent, the movie is a total waste. 'ATM' in fact offered a handful of genuinely shocking sequences. I also like the fact that it clings to the assertion that "fear" is much more effective than "scare". It builds up an excellent eerie atmosphere that somehow frightens the audience for a minute or two. Furthermore, the movie had one card that was better played: the character of Corey. I have expressed my annoyance towards the douche bag, but that determined the effectiveness of the character. He annoyed me because the character worked. And in the middle of the film, he drops down one witty line: "Life's about choices man. One bad one can ruin every good one you have made."
The antagonist was mysterious enough, but not as striking like the Michael Myers type. Brian Geraghty was filled with quandaries that left quandaries in the audience mind intently or not. It builds to an ending that had people waiting for a major twist that never came. It somehow appears to me as a clever choice.
'ATM' is a very ambitious entry in a low-key fashion. It was well-atmosphere-d in a quasi-psychological level, and a weak material that left us thinking "I certainly don't want to be with these characters anymore!"
The claustrophobia in one of the recent thrillers, 'Buried' was apparently a tool that helped the movies some tons. Perhaps, the filmmakers behind 'ATM', having one member who knew the formula, writer of 'Buried': Chris Sparling, used the "tool" in the hopes of making another good claustrophobic film. In 'ATM' however, the characters (with the exception of Corey) were too bland to be absorbed and the narrative were filled with gaping plot holes to even stay on. There was one scene in particular in which a security guard dropped by the kiosk. Our protagonists hopefully calls for him for some help, but it takes us very little knowledge to determine the fate of the security guard: face down and face smashed.
It doesn't necessarily mean that, while the execution are tormenting, and the characters were damn inconsistent, the movie is a total waste. 'ATM' in fact offered a handful of genuinely shocking sequences. I also like the fact that it clings to the assertion that "fear" is much more effective than "scare". It builds up an excellent eerie atmosphere that somehow frightens the audience for a minute or two. Furthermore, the movie had one card that was better played: the character of Corey. I have expressed my annoyance towards the douche bag, but that determined the effectiveness of the character. He annoyed me because the character worked. And in the middle of the film, he drops down one witty line: "Life's about choices man. One bad one can ruin every good one you have made."
The antagonist was mysterious enough, but not as striking like the Michael Myers type. Brian Geraghty was filled with quandaries that left quandaries in the audience mind intently or not. It builds to an ending that had people waiting for a major twist that never came. It somehow appears to me as a clever choice.
'ATM' is a very ambitious entry in a low-key fashion. It was well-atmosphere-d in a quasi-psychological level, and a weak material that left us thinking "I certainly don't want to be with these characters anymore!"
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