10 Best Films That All Take Place In One Room

Some motion pictures explore different stylistic choices in telling a story whether it be a first-person point of view in Hardcore Henry or having the entire film being told from the perspective of a webcam in Searching. These are excellent gimmicks that stray away from the normal path of narrative storytelling. One such gimmick that makes for some compelling storytelling is a movie that takes place all in one room.

Being confined to one location enhances the suspense and forces the filmmakers and actors to think outside the box with varying ways to approach each scene and character trait, both technically and performance-wise. Plus, the claustrophobic effect always adds a couple of notches to the entertainment value. Here are the 10 best films that all take place in one room.

10 Locke (2013)

Instead of a room inside a house, this brilliant British film Locke takes place all inside the confines of a BMW automobile that stars Bane himself Tom Hardy without a mask this time. Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Peaky Blinders) both wrote and directed this film that follows a guy (Hardy) driving his car at night trying to wright the wrongs he’s created over the past year, including having a child with someone that’s not his wife and implementing the biggest deal career-wise all in the same night.

The entire film is watching Hardy deal with his family, his affair, and business associates over the phone in some deeply emotional and awkward phone calls, where there is no escape for him nor the audience in this heart-pounding drama.

9 Devil (2010)

After M. Night Shyamalan delivered films where the blowing wind kills people (The Happening), the Philadelphia filmmaker took a lot of credit for the film Devil, which was all set inside an elevator in a tall skyscraper. Shyamalan had a lot to do with this film, including its over-the-top twist ending and showcasing each of the characters, but the director credit goes to John Erik Dowdle (Quarantine, As Above, So Below).

The film follows a group of people who ends up on an elevator that gets stuck, leading to a one-by-one death scene with all the necessary gore and whodunit questions. Haley Joel Osment would definitely be seeing dead people in this claustrophobic film.

8 All Is Lost (2013)

This beautifully shot movie all takes place inside a small fishing boat meant for one person that stars only Robert Redford as he tries to survive without food or water until he is rescued. The unfortunate thing is that he has no volleyball with a face to keep him company while his boat is slowly sinking.

Director J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year) not only conjures up the sense of dread and giving up in the middle of an ocean in a run-down tiny boat, but also the eerie silence of being absolutely alone is something truly scary in this solo location picture.

7 12 Angry Men (1957)

At the time, only Sidney Lumet could bring this fantastic stage play to the big screen and still evoke the character development and intense drama that goes inside this courthouse office in 12 Angry Men. The film is all set in this little room where 12 jurors must decide the fate of an 18-year old accused of murdering his father.

Most of the jurors just want to get back to their families and sports back home, but an impressive Henry Fonda implores everyone to stay and think the case out logically to see if there is any reasonable doubt since there is a kid’s life at stake. It’s an intense standoff between a couple of the jurors and is a fantastic look at the judicial system. The claustrophobia and stale air can be seen metaphorically in this amazing film.

6 Non-Stop (2014)

French filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, The Shallows) took the one location approach in the mile high club with the man who will find and kill everyone – Liam Neeson. This exciting thriller takes place all on a passenger airplane where a Federal Air Marshall tries to find a killer who threatens with texts that read a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes if financial demands are not met.

So it’s basically like The Grey, but instead of with wolves in the bitter cold, it’s with people in a jumbo jet airliner. Both are solid films that star the former Jedi Knight, but this film Non-Stop punctuates the tension with the inescapable setting of being 30,000 feet in the sky.

5 My Dinner With Andre (1981)

With its very minimal set of a delicious cafe, My Dinner With Andre is rich with dialogue and meaning that filmmaker Louis Malle perfectly crafts between two friends who talk about a variety of subjects. It sounds inconceivable, but the two actors Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) and Andre Gregory (Brazil), discuss everything from sex, theatre, their childhood, family, food, and more as the two try to answer the most difficult question (Why are we all here?). It’s a phenomenal film that takes place at the dinner table and it couldn’t be more engaging and smart if it tried.

4 Talk Radio (1988)

The radio airwaves became hot with fire in Oliver Stone’s film Talk Radio, which was adapted from the stage play of the same name about a shock-jock radio host who got more than he bargained for. The film is solely set at the radio station where Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian) answers callers and gives out blunt, harsh advice that covers a ton of extreme taboo subjects.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t end well for Barry but set within the confines of a room armed with only a microphone and mixing board, Barry declares war on the public with his words and stand-offish form of entertainment that ultimately engulfs him. It’s a fast-paced and manic evening of radio all set in one radio studio where all seems quiet and safe.

3 Cube (1997)

Vincenzo Natali went to extremes with his excellent horror film Cube that was set all in one room or a series of the same room to horrific effects. Half a dozen people wake up in a strange-looking box where deadly traps are triggered by moving, stepping on the wrong thing, or if weight is added to a certain place. The strangers must work together to escape their brutal deaths.

This movie inspired the likes of Saw and real-world escape rooms and has never been more terrifying than Cube. The intense and chaotic situations that come up in this small cube is extremely claustrophobic and completely frightening because one wrong move could mean instant painful death by fire, sharp blades, gas, or spikes, which is basically like a futuristic version of Indiana Jones‘ weekend.

2 Rear Window (1954)

Iconic film director Alfred Hitchcock employed a ton of different gimmicks with his many films, but in Rear Window, he chose the one location trick to scare audiences everywhere, starring James Stewart. This story has been recaptured many times before, but never quite like this. The film follows a man named Jeffries who is stuck at home due to his recent broken leg.

There is nothing much for him to do until he heals as he takes up looking at his neighbor’s apartment windows to see what’s happening, a form of passing the time. One day, he thinks he witnesses a brutal murder, which sends the one-legged Stewart on a downward spiral of conspiracies and madness as he tries to solve the case himself. It’s all unsettling and very cramped from this one location next to a window.

1 Buried (2010)

The scariest film to ever take place in one location is called Buried and luckily it stars Ryan Reynolds because if it starred anyone else, it would truly be so horrific that it would be unwatchable. However, Reynolds brings his witty charm and a tiny bit of comedy to mix perfectly with this highly terrifying film that all takes place a few feet underground.

Ryan Reynolds has been kidnapped and buried alive with only his mobile phone to illuminate the screen. His air supply is running out and it seems like a war is happening just above him as he tries to get signal to the outside world for a rescue.

About The Author

Bryan Kluger
(34 Articles Published)

Former husky model, real-life Comic Book Guy, genre-bending screenwriter, nude filmmaker, hairy podcaster, pro-wrestling idiot-savant, who has a penchant for solving Rubik’s Cubes and rolling candy cigarettes on unreleased bootlegs of Frank Zappa records.

Bryan has been in front and behind the camera since the early ’90s and is the head film critic on Boomstick Comics, High Def Digest, and also leads multiple podcast shows related to film, TV, music, and pro-wrestling (My Bloody Podcast, The Celebrity Hour, NO BS Podcast.)

He can be found writing screenplays, serving as Deejay at iconic bars and clubs in the Dallas area, and playing video games on Twitch.

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