Hello! I’m Gui, founder of MediaTag.io. This is one of my posts detailing films or creative work that inspire me.

There are many films fully or partially unfolding in a single location. They have been made ever since cinema existed. This genre is of course attractive for financial reasons, as they are not as expensive to shoot. But another great reason is that they are very stimulating, both for the team and for the audience.

Let’s first look at which films have been made in a single location:

12 Angry Men

The first one on this list is actually my favorite. I consider it one of those rare “perfect films”, if there is such thing. It sets up very simple rules, and never deviates from them. I don’t remember being bored a single minute. A very suspenseful, tense and smart film!

Note that it is not fully in a single place, as it starts in the court room, and there is a break half way in an adjacent room. But that’s is of course completely forgivable, as it might actually help the audience settle and breath a little.

127 hours

This one might be cheating a little. While we spend most of our time with the protagonist, stuck with his arm under a boulder, there are a lot of flashbacks. Does that rule it out as a single-location film? There’s no official rule for that, so you’ll be the judge. I personally like it here.

Buried

Not only is this a single location, but it is so small that the protagonist can barely move.

It relies mostly on phone conversations to make the plot move forward. Not extraordinary, but certainly original.

Carnage

Clerks

The main lesson here is that you can start your career for approximately zero money!

Closet Land

I actually only discovered Closet Land while doing research for this post. But there are so many 10/10 reviews that I could not ignore it.

Clue

The kind of film that invites you to solve a puzzle. Both intellectual and also quite funny.

Coherence

This film was shot over 5 nights, and semi-improvised. Another great example of creating something innovative with little resources.

Conspiracy

I could not find a trailer for Conspiracy, so here is an early scene instead.

This may recall 12 Angry Men, as it involves a dozen of men around a table. But the stakes are much higher. Does that make a more entertaining film? Not necessarily.

Cube

Das Boot

A masterpiece from Germany. The claustrophobic world of a submarine.

Dawn of the Dead

Death and the Maiden

I think about this one regularly. The suspense is high from start to finish.

Devil

Ex Machina

Exam

Funny Games

A film that the director decided to do twice, 10 years apart!

I only saw the original, and that is one of the most disturbing films I saw. It’s not about the gore, but about the completely “off” behaviour displayed by the kids attacking this family.

Gerald’s Game

Straight from the mind of Stephen King.

Green Room

Green Room is a great film. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, who previously made Blue Ruin. Both films are very violent, while making clear this really only starts a deadly spiral.

Hard Candy

Hardware

A little unknown gem from the 90’s, if you are into killer robots.

Housebound

Housebound is a great film, straight from New Zealand. It navigates between genres. Sometimes comedy, sometimes drama, sometimes ghost story. Definitely recommended.

Insignificance

It’s a Disaster

I can’t recall how I stumbled on this one, but it was a very pleasant surprise. While the story is fairly straightforward, the cast is excellent.

Lifeboat

I quite like that the trailer does not show any actual footage from the film, but only plays you hectic pieces of dialogues. It does succeed in setting the tone and peaking my interest.

Locke

Locke is one of the best of this list. So simple, so efficient, and does not fall in the cliches or tropes of the genre.

Martyrs

Misery

My Dinner With André

Panic Room

Phone Booth

Phone Booth’s location isn’t much larger than buried. The difference being that the protagonist is stuck not because of being locked, but because of a threat.

And new threats keep adding up as the story unfolds. Very dynamic and great suspense overall.

Pontypool

Rear Window

Rec

Repulsion

Reservoir Dogs

Similar to 127 Hours, there are many flashbacks in other locations, which made me hesitate in including it in this list. But it’s so great, I could not resist.

Right At Your Door

Rope

Room in Rome

Most of the films in this list mostly use tension or suspense. Room in Rome completely stands out, as it depicts the love story between two woman. A genuine and beautiful film from Julio Medem who had previously made Lucía y el sexo.

Sleuth

Sleuth is another of those films that was remade years later. 30 years in this case. Only this time, one actor came back: Michael Caine.

Snowpiercer

A french comic book, adapted by a fantastic South Korean director, with a mostly american cast.

The result is a very original film, about people having spent their whole lives on a train going non-stop around the planet.

Solaris

First the Tarkovsky, then the Soderbergh. You either hate it or love it.

Splinter

That may seem like a horror movie who comes and goes, but it was surprisingly good. This may be due to the actors who really make you feel that you are stuck with them.

The Breakfast Club

The Exterminating Angel

By Luis Bunuel, making fun of the codes of upper-class society.

The Invitation

The Man From Earth

I mentioned The man from Earth in my newsletter before, But it really is worth a watch. It is quite impressive to see a plot move forward so naturally only with dialogues.

The Thing

Even after 25 years, The Thing remains the best horror film I’ve seen. A great mix of originality and suspense.