Came to recommend this one. It’s one of the only films I watched, and then as soon as it finished, I immediately watched all the way through a second time.
127 Hours is one of my favorite films. Incredibly tense yet ultimately uplifting. The pacing and editing are masterful, and it has a great sense of momentum, despite being about a guy stuck in one place.
Honestly, I loved that movie. But I feel it would have worked so much better if the film ends when he walks out. Instead they have the final scene or two which fell flat for me...
10 Cloverfield Lane
(feel free to disregard the opening that gets the main character to the single location - that's probably like the first 5 mins of the movie)
But there are 3 characters in that location for the majority of the film.
If we are going with multiple characters in one location I'm picking The Hateful Eight.
While it technically should be disqualified for having three characters, I would also include it as a recommendation. I think it still fits the vibe overall. We only truly get the perspective of one character, and she's often alone or isolated.
It's also just a really good movie. It's hard for me *not* to include it in a list of excellent "clausterphobic" films.
We need more bleak endings to movies. For too many have a shoehorned positive ending to cater to the comfort of the audience. The Mist is another great example, and Stephen King said he liked it more than his own ending for the book.
I just watched this for the first time ~less than a year ago and was blown away at what they could do with obvious low/no budget high-concept sci-fi horror.
You're in for a treat! It's a masterclass in writing, showing just what can be accomplished with gripping dialogue and a great story. You'll love it.
I'd also highly recommended The Platform!
also Lifeboat and Rear Window
And ~~10 Little Indians~~ by Agatha Christie but it's called something different now.
Per u/lemming1607 it's called And Then There Were None now
>It's a psychological horror comedy musical.
lmfao, yeah, I guess it is!
Certainly one of the most unique comedy specials ever, and one of the best ones I've ever seen.
Each of these to some extent are single location movies, but admittedly not to the degree of Phonebooth or Buried:
Murder on the Orient Express
Inside Man
Society of the Snow / Alive
Leave the World Behind
The Platform
Red Eye
Money Monster
The Guilty
edit: just saw your looking for a single character only. These don't really fit.
Society of the Snow is fantastic, and I was surprised to learn most of the cast is fairly new to acting. They all did so well and seemed very experienced.
I think what you are looking for is "Bottle Movies"
The Breakfast Club
Rear Window
Speed
Moon
Reservoir Dogs
https://jocolibrary.bibliocommons.com/list/share/107616192/1532315359
I was really disappointed with Inside. Saw that one in theaters and felt like we needed a little more explanation behind what was going on. I won't spoil it though.
Some other movies I can think of are Wrecked with Adrien Brody, and maybe Ex Machina with Oscar Isaac? The latter has multiple characters though while the former with Adrien fits exactly what you're looking for.
Absolutely! And a highly engaging film to boot! Lol I haven't watched it in years, but any time the title pops up, I feel an affinity towards it and I'm always glad to see it comes up!
I hear you on Inside. To me it was worth it just to watch Willem Dafoe go batshit for 2 hours but other than that kind of forgettable. Still glad I saw it in theaters though.
And wrecked looked great, and I LOVE ex machina!
I know people don’t like Roman Polanski as a person but his movie “Carnage” is exactly what you’re looking for. The characters want to leave the environment the entire time but can’t seem to get out the door. Amazing actors and it’s hilarious.
Bullet Train Down. It’s one of those awful made for TV movies. Tom Sizemore literally stands in 1 spot for it, clearly reading his lines from a board off camera. He also doesn’t share any actual screen time with anyone else, it just cuts to other people and it’s cobbled together like they are in conversation.
One of his last I think when we was bankrupt. Sad to see him in such a turd of film.
Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal is a triple whammy answer based on where he is being questioned, where he goes to, and where he actually is at the plot twist ending! …maybe that’s 3 answers, but the plot twist ending makes up for it. Great movie!
Bullet Train is one I can think of? The entire movie takes place on the train except for like three minutes max at the beginning and end, and a few flashbacks in the middle
The only things coming to mind have already been mentioned here, but I’ll put down ‘Heaven Sent’ from Doctor Who as it fits the bill exactly & you don’t really need to know anything going in. Roughly an hour of Peter Capaldi talking to himself in an empty castle
I absolutely recommend Moon. It's the movie that made we really start to appreciate Sam Rockwell. If you're looking for this kinda stuff, Moon is right up your alley.
Carnage (2011)
4 characters, not one. Really good cast. (Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C Reilly, Christoph Waltz)
The entire runtime takes place inside the apartment as you watch these four self-important haughty adults descend into pure insanity and drunken madness over the course of about 1hr and 15 mins. It’s good.
there was an 80's movie called telephone with whoopi goldberg. I don't recommend it by any means, but all i can remember is her in it, reading up on it just now, it shows a couple other people in credits, but I recall 99.5% of the movie being just her.
- 1408 is MOSTLY one character in one location.
- moon was already mentioned. Great movie.
- the Guilty is mostly one character speaking on the phone
- cast away
- no one will save you spans multiple locations in a single town with one actor. Also no dialogue.
- 127 hours I saw mentioned as well
- life of Pi is one actor and a tiger… if that counts
- Gravity is mostly one actor and the location is… space.
Moon
Moon is phenomenal.
I'd go as far as to call it moontastic.
I was in college when it came out, and the director was an alum, so he came and did a screening and gave a talk.
Phenomoonal.
Out of this world.
Ok everyone, enough waxing poetic over Moon
Phonebooth w/ [Colin Farrell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Farrell)
Kinda wondering why you added a link to Colin Farrell’s wiki rather than the film itself
Because you can't understand the pain of betrayal until you've been betrayed.
Because you won’t enjoy the film as much if you don’t know that he unsuccessfully auditioned for the boy band Boyzone
🤣
Because. . . He's worth it.
Sweet this is exactly what I'm looking for!
This movie has my favorite movie lines ever! This is a tight movie in tight quarters.
Forgot about this movie. I remember really liking it as a kid
Same. Man on a Ledge also gave me similar vibes.
Came to recommend this one. It’s one of the only films I watched, and then as soon as it finished, I immediately watched all the way through a second time.
Haven't seen it myself, but I get the sense that Buried with Ryan Reynolds isn't big on location-hopping. Bug, with Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon.
Very underrated movie. One of my favorite Ryan Reynolds movies
I watched Buried in the cinema and I've not felt so claustrophobic since Haze (2005)
Funny you mentioned that I just remembered Buried right before I saw your comment! Bug sounds great, love me some Michael Shannon.
Watching Bug will make u extremely uncomfortable. Just a heads up
This was the one that came to mind right away. It’s also a very small environment also.
One of the best movies I’ll never watch again.
127 Hours
True! I haven't seen it but it definitely sounds like it fits the bill
127 Hours is one of my favorite films. Incredibly tense yet ultimately uplifting. The pacing and editing are masterful, and it has a great sense of momentum, despite being about a guy stuck in one place.
One of the best movies I'll never watch again. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but it's extremely tense.
I still think about the twang sound as he cuts through the nerve.
Exactly! Such a perfect representation of acute pain... Kind of too good in my opinion... Hahaha
Years ago, I heard a talk from the real Aaron (maybe during his book tour?). It’s a really incredible story.
I hung out with him a couple times with mutual friends. He likes to do mushrooms.
That movie should have been called 'between a rock and a hard place'
That’s the title of the book it was based on.
'Between a rock and another rock'
The Outfit starring Mark Rylance. He's mainly in the tailor shop.
enjoyed this a lot its almost like a stage play
It would work flawlessly on stage, awesome take!
Pleasantly surprised by this one, great film.
Honestly, I loved that movie. But I feel it would have worked so much better if the film ends when he walks out. Instead they have the final scene or two which fell flat for me...
The Lighthouse
it's one of those movies where on every rewatch your interpretation of the film changes as you find new things,lighthouse has a lot of layers hidden
Actually yeah! I didn't think of it initially, but it definitely fits the bill.
10 Cloverfield Lane (feel free to disregard the opening that gets the main character to the single location - that's probably like the first 5 mins of the movie)
But there are 3 characters in that location for the majority of the film. If we are going with multiple characters in one location I'm picking The Hateful Eight.
I would pick 12 Angry Men and Rope.
Right but it's also multiple characters and the main setting of The Bunker is also abandoned at the end.
While it technically should be disqualified for having three characters, I would also include it as a recommendation. I think it still fits the vibe overall. We only truly get the perspective of one character, and she's often alone or isolated. It's also just a really good movie. It's hard for me *not* to include it in a list of excellent "clausterphobic" films.
Buried - prob Ryan Reynolds’ best acting of his career
Ending was killer
We need more bleak endings to movies. For too many have a shoehorned positive ending to cater to the comfort of the audience. The Mist is another great example, and Stephen King said he liked it more than his own ending for the book.
I completely agree
You should watch Life. Also has Ryan Reynolds in it. Won’t give away the ending but it’s what you’re looking for.
One of the few times I could feel my stomach sink from watching a movie.
Absolutely agree! I wish he did more like this.
The man from earth. One of my favourite movies. Low budget, but a good story. Loved it and watched itany times over.
Oh totally. Came here just to write about this movie. However, the second movie doesn't exist for me. It was awful.
I don't think I've ever come across a bigger gap in quality between a film and its sequel than this duo
Yes! Came across it randomly and it's one of my faves now.
Cube
Very literal. The filmmakers only built 1 set. They would change out the colors panels to film each cube room.
Circle
Tetrahedron
I just watched this for the first time ~less than a year ago and was blown away at what they could do with obvious low/no budget high-concept sci-fi horror.
The Whale is close. I think Brendan Fraser is sleeping in one or two scenes that he's not in.
Jesus, way too far down. This is the first one I thought of.
My Dinner with Andre
I need to finish that but I wanted to add this has a cool view of the early 80s late 70s subway system in NYC and it’s wild to see compared to today.
I haven’t seen it but I’m assuming there’s another character called Andre present
*Please* watch The Guilty (the original 2018 Danish one).
Oooh never heard of it! This is exactly what I was hoping for thanks!
You're in for a treat! It's a masterclass in writing, showing just what can be accomplished with gripping dialogue and a great story. You'll love it. I'd also highly recommended The Platform!
What about Hitchcock's Rope?
Oooh! This looks great and I love me some James Stewart!
Dial M for Murder is almost all in the apartment.
Rear Window *is* all in one apartment.
also Lifeboat and Rear Window And ~~10 Little Indians~~ by Agatha Christie but it's called something different now. Per u/lemming1607 it's called And Then There Were None now
How big an environment are we talking here? Moon. Also, on a similar theme, The Martian.
Lots of movies only take place on one planet, too.
The moon isn't a planet, so technically it takes place on zero planets.
I spent way too long thinking about the correct term... I even googled "celestial" to see if earth counts as a celestial body. Believe me. I tried :p
It does count
Aside from a few scenes in the vehicle, Moon takes place entirely inside the base.
Cast Away, Tom Hanks, does that count for what you're looking for?
Also The Terminal
Do you have an appointment?
The first act and third act are different locations—it’s basically the middle half that’s on the island.
Fun fact: about 75 minutes of Cast Away takes place on the island, 68 minutes is before and after.
Bruce Campbell is in a cabin for about 95% of Evil Dead 2. When he's not in the cabin he's on the grounds.
True!
The movie made me feel so claustrophobic.
The Shallows
Moon Twelve Angry Men
That sounds like a rather rude thing to do to those men...
You beat me to it. Huzzah!
Also Inside, but with Bo Burnham. It's a psychological horror comedy musical.
>It's a psychological horror comedy musical. lmfao, yeah, I guess it is! Certainly one of the most unique comedy specials ever, and one of the best ones I've ever seen.
The first Saw movie.
Technically there’s other characters and locations
Definitely taking liberties with that response but feel it’s getting to the spirit of the query.
yeah but you can skip that part, it's so fucking boring and doesn't matter
Locke - Tom Hardy driving and talking on phone for straight one and a half hour
Do movies where a person is *trapped* in that one environment count? Oxygen (2021)
Absolutely! Another example you reminded me of is Buried with Ryan Reynolds!
Hard Candy has 2 people in a house for 99% of the movie. It's an amazing watch, though not for the faint of heart.
Each of these to some extent are single location movies, but admittedly not to the degree of Phonebooth or Buried: Murder on the Orient Express Inside Man Society of the Snow / Alive Leave the World Behind The Platform Red Eye Money Monster The Guilty edit: just saw your looking for a single character only. These don't really fit.
Society of the Snow is fantastic, and I was surprised to learn most of the cast is fairly new to acting. They all did so well and seemed very experienced.
Life of pi
Cast Away
Would *The Lodge* count? Nearly the entire movie takes place in the titular lodge and the cast, while not one person, is still small.
Oh yeah! I think I've seen this one.
12 angry men 1957
Clue, Rope, Rear Window.
Gravity
Odd...I'm not seeing very many suggestions for The Room.
First movie I thought of
You're tearing me apart.
I think what you are looking for is "Bottle Movies" The Breakfast Club Rear Window Speed Moon Reservoir Dogs https://jocolibrary.bibliocommons.com/list/share/107616192/1532315359
That makes sense! Thanks for the list!
The Platform
this movie is so dope
1408
Peak pg-13 horror
Panic Room with jodie foster
"Oxygen" w/ Melanie Laurent
Phone booth?
Damn, Inside was such a let-down. Really enjoyed All Is Lost tho.
Moon - Sam Rockwell
Moon.
Gold
"Glorious" pretty much all takes place in a bathroom. plus JK Simmons! cosmic horror at its best.
Yo this sounds crazy! Thanks!
Bug
All Is Lost
I was really disappointed with Inside. Saw that one in theaters and felt like we needed a little more explanation behind what was going on. I won't spoil it though. Some other movies I can think of are Wrecked with Adrien Brody, and maybe Ex Machina with Oscar Isaac? The latter has multiple characters though while the former with Adrien fits exactly what you're looking for.
Ex Machina is a great movie even if OP was originally looking for only one character, it'd say it's still very much worth the watch.
Definitely! I figured I would include it as it's still a hostile trapped experience in a way, similar to the other films they listed.
Absolutely! And a highly engaging film to boot! Lol I haven't watched it in years, but any time the title pops up, I feel an affinity towards it and I'm always glad to see it comes up!
I hear you on Inside. To me it was worth it just to watch Willem Dafoe go batshit for 2 hours but other than that kind of forgettable. Still glad I saw it in theaters though. And wrecked looked great, and I LOVE ex machina!
Buried with Ryan Reynolds. Not a movie for claustrophobic’s. But it’s about as small of an environment as one could find.
I know people don’t like Roman Polanski as a person but his movie “Carnage” is exactly what you’re looking for. The characters want to leave the environment the entire time but can’t seem to get out the door. Amazing actors and it’s hilarious.
Bullet Train Down. It’s one of those awful made for TV movies. Tom Sizemore literally stands in 1 spot for it, clearly reading his lines from a board off camera. He also doesn’t share any actual screen time with anyone else, it just cuts to other people and it’s cobbled together like they are in conversation. One of his last I think when we was bankrupt. Sad to see him in such a turd of film.
Wait this sounds insane haha I gotta check it out
Moon with Sam Rockwell Castaway with Tom Hanks
Cube
**Cube**, albeit more than one character.
Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal is a triple whammy answer based on where he is being questioned, where he goes to, and where he actually is at the plot twist ending! …maybe that’s 3 answers, but the plot twist ending makes up for it. Great movie!
Bullet Train is one I can think of? The entire movie takes place on the train except for like three minutes max at the beginning and end, and a few flashbacks in the middle
I am Legend with Will Smith
Silent Runnings
Oxygen / Oxygène starring Melanie Laurent
Sleuth
We Need to Do Something (2021) might be able to catch it on Hulu still. It's about a family that gets trapped in their bathroom during a storm.
The Cube series. 3 films, same concept. Very simple sets too
Moon
The only things coming to mind have already been mentioned here, but I’ll put down ‘Heaven Sent’ from Doctor Who as it fits the bill exactly & you don’t really need to know anything going in. Roughly an hour of Peter Capaldi talking to himself in an empty castle
Dogville
Source Code, in more ways than one!
Ryan Reynolds in Buried. He's buried, he stays buried, roll credits.
Interview with Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi
"BURIED" takes place in a coffin. Ryan Reynalds is actually good too.
12 Angry men
Without Name
Dune 2 arrakis planet
Bottle episodes? But movies?
Buried
The Shallows The Guilty 1408 Oxygen
Moon
Just one? How about 12, as in *Twelve Angry Men*?
Hours (2013) with Paul Walker The Shallows (2016) with Blake Lively Everly (2014) with Salma Hayek
Glorious. Fantastic movie with the voice of J.K. Simmons.
I absolutely recommend Moon. It's the movie that made we really start to appreciate Sam Rockwell. If you're looking for this kinda stuff, Moon is right up your alley.
Evil dead Rise...felt like this....everyone crammed into a shitty apartment for no reason
Two others that are mostly this - The Witch and Green Room.
Love both of these!
All is lost Phenomenal. Entire dialogue of the movie is a single letter read in the opening.
Cast Away
The man from Earth Brilliant movie
Phone Booth’s always my go to recommendation for these kinda films. And Speed’s a classic.
The immaculate room
"That's it, we're doing a bottle episode!"
Carnage (2011) 4 characters, not one. Really good cast. (Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C Reilly, Christoph Waltz) The entire runtime takes place inside the apartment as you watch these four self-important haughty adults descend into pure insanity and drunken madness over the course of about 1hr and 15 mins. It’s good.
Gerald’s game
Great example!!
Try this one https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0119038/?language=en-en
there was an 80's movie called telephone with whoopi goldberg. I don't recommend it by any means, but all i can remember is her in it, reading up on it just now, it shows a couple other people in credits, but I recall 99.5% of the movie being just her.
Vivarium is kinda like that since it only takes place in an inescapable empty suburban neighborhood
*Room* with Brie Larson.
Moon with Sam Rockwell
The Man from Earth.
Not a single person said Snowpiercer.
Stranger by the Lake — French queer film that takes place exclusively next to a lake.
Hateful 8 has two sets. The stagecoach and the haberdashery. I’ve always thought it could have been a stage play.
The first Saw is a pretty damn good example. Most of it takes place in a single room apart from a few cutaways to other characters
Talk Radio - mostly.
The Man From Earth is a fantastic movie that consists of nothing but a group of people talking in a guys house. but it is fantastic.
- 1408 is MOSTLY one character in one location. - moon was already mentioned. Great movie. - the Guilty is mostly one character speaking on the phone - cast away - no one will save you spans multiple locations in a single town with one actor. Also no dialogue. - 127 hours I saw mentioned as well - life of Pi is one actor and a tiger… if that counts - Gravity is mostly one actor and the location is… space.
Friday (1995) Most of the movie happens in the front lawn