Ruptured Reasoning: ATM (2012)

by Chris Marshall:

Director: David Brooks

Cast: Alice Eve, Josh Peck, Brian Geraghty

Netflix Synopsis: When three coworkers make a midnight stop at a glass-enclosed ATM after their Christmas party, they find themselves trapped by a menacing man outside. Soon they're fighting for their survival as the temperature plunges and the man toys with them.

Chris: I’ve watched a lot of movies this year. Like, a whole lot. Most were quite good, thanks to The Oscar Project, where even the “bad” entries tended to be of a pretty high caliber. I’ve seen some really bad ones as well (I’m looking at you, Project X). But purely in terms of realism, Project X looked like a documentary in comparison to ATM, which hinged entirely on the stupidity of its main characters.

This isn’t exactly a revolutionary phenomenon. Roger Ebert, in his Little Movie Glossary, refers to it as the Idiot Plot: “A plot that requires all the characters to be idiots. If they weren't, they'd immediately figure out everything and the movie would be over.”

Ruptured Reasoning: Vile (2012)

by Chris Marshall: 

Director: Taylor Sheridan

Cast: April Matson, Akeem Smith

Netflix Synopsis: Ten[1] captives have 24[2] hours to mount an escape from a locked room[3], but they must endure excruciating pain to win their freedom.

Chris: I went into last night’s film, Vile, with the absolute lowest expectations. I’d never heard of it in my life, and the synopsis made it sound like a complete Saw rip-off. Which I suppose it kind of was, but it was so much better than I ever would have anticipated.

It was not a great film, by any means, and I’d even say that “good” is a stretch. But it was very entertaining, and I have no regrets at all about my choice. When it comes to movies where people torture each other for an hour and a half, you can do way worse.

The plot is simple enough. Nine people wake up and find themselves trapped in a house. It’s dirty and dingy, but in every other way it’s just like any other home. There aren’t any of the typical horror movie trappings, except for a large video screen, where a pre-recorded message tells them what they have to do to get out, and steel doors preventing them from escaping.