The thrill flick ATM has all the elements for a good night of terror especially for the novice horror lovers.  A strong trio of actors gets able direction from newcomer David Brooks who frames his film in a small space for maximum fright factor.  Now on Blu-ray you can get this chiller with all its guts and gore for your own personal nightmares.

The movie centers on David (Brian Geraghty) a greenhorn investment banker who feels like crap after just blowing a clients money on the stock market.  He’s not too happy about his client’s ominous accusations either. His co-worker best friend Corey (Josh Peck) tries to cheer him up and the two join the other workers at the office Christmas party.

David has longed to get a date with another co-worker Emily (Alice Eve) but has struck out several times.  With Corey egging him on David finally makes a solid attempt to make headway when he asks Emily if he can give her a ride home from the party. But Corey horns in on the couple asking them to take him to an ATM to get cash for a cab.  Now after midnight and not wanting to make Emily think he is a jerk for saying no, the three ride off together to the nearest Cash Machine.  With the temperatures dropping below zero, the three finally get to an open free standing housed ATM.  When they start to exit the building however, there’s an ominous man standing between them and David’s car.

The movie plays out well with the three witnessing a brutal attack by the mystery man of a guy waking his dog just outside the ATM.  This sets up the three in an impossible situation that initiates panic and creating the feel of dread for the viewers.  As each scene develops Director David Brooks slowly reveals ominous actions of the very scary plot, heightening the fear factor.  His ability to use several different cameras within the tight confines of the small ATM creates a claustrophobic anxiety that adds to the terror.

David (Geragthy), Emily’s (Eve) and Corey (Peck) take refuge in an ATM

The actors in ATM are extremely good with Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) giving a nice performance as the pushover buddy who allows his friend to influence his decision to go to the Cash Machine. Although he does make crucial decisions later on during a face-off, he still can’t control all the elements.  Both Alice Eve (The Raven) and Josh Peck (The Wackness) make their characters believable in their support of Geraghty.  The two add the stimulus for most of the disturbing trauma.

As for myself, there happens to be a downside and that’s the way the finale plays out.  Most of you who are only borderline terror film lovers may not find any fault at all in the ending, but those of us who just can’t wait until the next scary flick comes out, ATM will probably let down a bit.

The bonus on the Blu-ray features the ‘making of’ ATM.  Here we find Director David Brooks showing how he made the terror flick, interviews with the cast on their roles, the writers reasons for certain scenes, building of the set, camera work, and other aspects of creating ATM.  The part I liked best shows how they built the small housing that shelters the Cash Machine.  Placed in a vacant parking lot, set to the back and no buildings close enough for anyone to hear a commotion makes the cash shack a real ominous chiller.  It’s a sweet set for a night of fright.

The other bonus is the choice of the actual film that was released in theaters or a director’s cut.  Brook’s cut doesn’t change very much that I could tell in the additional 5 minutes added and unfortunately for me, neither does the ending.

The Blu-ray disc does really punch the terror home however by giving the viewer a crystal clear picture.  ATM is presented in the widescreen version to preserve the 1.78:1 aspect ratio of the original theatrical showing. As for the sound, the excellent 5.1 DTS Master Audio played amazingly good on my big screen TV’s sound system providing some very scary moments from the film.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  A scary good late night thriller. (B)

Specifications and additional film information:

• Cast: Brian Geraghty, Alice Eve and Josh Peck
• Directed by: David Brooks
• MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence and terror (Director’s Cut-Unrated)
• Genre: Horror, Thriller
• Running Time: 85 min Theatrical, 90 min Director’s Cut
• Street Date: July 31, 2012
• Original Theatrical Release Date: March 6, 2012
• Language: English
• Format: Blu-ray
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Audio: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
• Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
• Subtitles: English SDH and Spanish
• Number of Discs: 1
• Distributed by: IFC Films