Phone Booth versus Blair Witch? All I can say is: it was about time.
It's no secret that your old pal the Sleaze-A-Saurus loves it some Survival Horror. By the ten-fold eyes of the Sky Demon - he also loves him some Pseudo Documentaries, too! Any pathetic hu-mon running for it's life in confined spaces and on grainy first-person camera is more than acceptable for your supreme galactic Overlord's amusement! Indeed it is.
To get ATM (2012), take the rawness of The Blair Witch (1996) and add classic b-movie writer and director Larry Cohen's[0] superb script for Phone Booth (2002). Now, we have something most interesting - something called ATM. Angry Torture Mechanism, from what I gather...
Taglined "No warning. No control. No escape." the movie begins deceptively slow with three yuppie hu-mon friends returning from a fine old time out on the town. The small group finds themselves in a regular type, glass-enclosed bank ATM late at night. From inside the structure, they quickly find themselves targeted by a mysterious hooded figure who has sprung out of the darkness.
The mundane and ordinary falls away as the three yuppoids fight for their very lives in the condensed world of a small 10x15 glass-enclosed structure where the majority of the movie is set, much like Phone Booth before it.
The acting from Brian Geraghty (David), Alice Eve (Emily) and Josh Peck (Corey) moves from standard to flawless. The script they work from sings as a result. I am forbidden to reveal to you the full extent of the twists and turns in this very SAW-like film which potentially is already in sequel negotiations as of this article's publication date.
ATM is based on a story by Ron Tippe and developed into a script by Chris Sparling. The feature was directed by David Brooks.
NOTES:
[0] = Larry Cohen has written dozens of hit horror movies including: The Stuff (1985), Q (1984), Maniac Cop 2 (1990) and part 3 (1993). He's also written It's Alive four times starting in 1974 and re-written it for a new movie in 2008.
References:
IMDB, ATM (2012)
Wikipedia, ATM (film)
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