[4.50/10] ATM (2012)

ATM (2012)

Brief review: David Brooks' overly ambitious project "ATM" sounds good on paper, and it has the potential to be a solid slasher, but it's the ridiculously implausible script, full of 'Oh no, they didn't' moments, that really lets the film down. Furthermore, the true motives of the mysterious killer are never revealed, as instead, what's being thrown at our faces is an unnecessarily convoluted ending, that mutely tires to explain too many things, but has very little time to do it. The end result is 'simply too much to handle' and may/will confuse most viewers. On a positive note, "ATM" has it's moments of intensity, and it offers a couple of vile death scenes, but overall, it's neither scary, that suspenseful. Considering the limited setting, Brooks does a fine job behind the camera, providing us with as much variety as possible, and the dark, deserted surroundings create a certain sense of fear and despair, but these technical qualities just aren't enough to save "ATM" from being a misfire. All three lead characters make stupid decisions and act illogically most of the time, hence, their evolving stupidity makes you care about them less and less as the film progresses. The acting ranges from okay to mediocre, but none of the actors involved is particularly convincing. Alice Eve is pure eye-candy, but her performance just isn't believable enough, and both Josh Peck and Brian Geraghty display pretty weak acting skills.

Overall summary: It has a decent premise, some tense moments and a few brutal kills, and it's fairly well-executed, but "ATM" is ruined by an utter lack of credibility, brainless characters, and an overly complicated twist ending that just couldn't have been more anti-climatic.