Sometimes all a filmmaker needs is one solid location to tell their stories. Single-location movies, otherwise known as "bottle films," are films that are mostly set in a lone location. From suspenseful thrillers to edge-of-your-seat horror and action spectacles, plenty of great movies have been confined to one set. From as far back as the early 1900s, talented directors and writers have taken advantage of the concept of the bottle movie.
However, much like any genre, a selection of bottle films stands high above the rest. The quality of these few great movies not only towers over other bottle movies, but they are excellent flicks in their own right. While there are benefits to having a movie set in multiple different unique locations, some films prove that confining a story to a single set can lead to immense critical and commercial success.
10 Free Fire Is Non-Stop Tense Gun Action With An All-Star Cast
2017
2017’s Free Fire asks a straightforward question: “what if we took an all-star cast and pitted them against each other in a 90-minute long shootout? From director/writer Ben Wheatley who previously made Kill List, Free Fire revolves around two gangs who engage in a shootout in a Boston warehouse after a deal goes awry.
Free Fire’s biggest hook is its cast. With big names like Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, and Jack Reynor, Free Fire isn’t short on impressive acting talent. Despite the whole movie being set in what’s on paper a reasonably typical abandoned warehouse, the intense game of survival that plays out is endlessly entertaining to watch.
9 127 Hours Was A Classic From Director Danny Boyle
2011
Filmmaker Danny Boyle has one of the most distinctive filmographies of any prominent director. Boyle has tackled everything from tense dramas (Slumdog Millionaire) to philosophical science-fiction (Sunshine) and high-octane horror (28 Days Later). Although his filmography features several Oscar-nominated movies, many critics consider 2011’s 127 Hours Boyle’s magnum opus.
Starring James Franco, 127 Hours tell the real-life story of mountaineer Aron Ralston who got trapped in a canyon for 127 Hours. Driven entirely by Franco’s performance and Boyle’s direction, the movie is an incredibly engaging tale of survival and perseverance that needs to be seen by all. Grossing three times its production budget and being nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, 127 Hours is one of Boyle’s best films to date.
8 Panic Room Remains A Forgotten Gem In Director David Fincher's Impressive Filmography
2002
There are few, if any, directors as talented as David Fincher. The mind behind Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, and Netflix’s Mindhunter is responsible for some of the past three decades' most precise and enthralling movies. Considering Fincher’s immense track record, it’s hard to imagine that any movie he’s made could be considered more overlooked. Yet, 2002’s Panic Room is easily the most forgotten film on Fincher’s resume.
Starring Jodie Foster, Panic Room revolves entirely around a young mother and her diabetic daughter being trapped in a panic room as three men try to break in search of a missing fortune. Panic Room is a must-watch thriller featuring Fincher’s trademark sharp direction and powerhouse performances from Foster and actor Forest Whitaker.
7 The Man From Earth Tells A Thought-Provoking And Engrossing Story
2007
The development of 2007’s The Man From Earth is one of the more interesting stories of screenwriting commitment. Writer Jerome Bixby originally began writing the screenplay for the movie in the 1960s and finally finished it on his deathbed in 1998. The film focuses on one of Bixby’s favorite topics, the discussion around longevity.
Directed by Richard Shenkman, The Man From Earth tells the story of professor John Oldman (played by David Lee Smith), who, during his farewell party, reveals to his colleagues that he is, in fact, a caveman who has lived for 14,000 years. What follows is a series of some of the most well-written intellectual conversations seen in any movie of the past few decades.
6 Moon Features A Fantastic Lead Performance From Sam Rockwell
2009
There was a period during the late 90s and early 2000s when Sam Rockwell was considered one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. While many would argue that still might be the case, Rockwell, for a good period, delivered incredible performance after incredible performance and rarely garnered the recognition he deserved. One of Rockwell’s best roles came in one of the most underrated science fiction films of the 2000s, 2009’s Moon.
Directed by Duncan Jones, Moon follows Rockwell’s Samuel Bell as he nears the end of his three-year mission stationed on a helium-3 mining station and starts to go through a personal crisis. Driven almost entirely by Rockwell’s performance, Moon is an excellent sci-fi film that is a worthy addition to the genre.
5 Locke Is Eighty Minutes Of Fantastic Tom Hardy Acting
2013
Before Tom Hardy became a massive Hollywood star, he got his start in lower-budget indie films. Many of these movies showcased Hardy’s immense acting talent, eventually leading him to star in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Dark Knight Rises. One of Hardy’s best low-budget movies came during the actors' rise to stardom. In 2013 Hardy starred in the film Locke.
Locke is a movie set entirely in a car driven by Hardy’s Ivan Locke as he drives to London to see the birth of his child. For 80 minutes, Ivan goes through all sorts of emotional turmoil as he makes his way along the highway. With the other characters only being presented through voice calls, Locke is the Tom Hardy show, and he kills it.
4 Funny Games Breaks Movie Tropes Through Disturbing Yet Captivating Moments
1997
There are few things risker for a filmmaker to attempt than breaking the fourth wall. Writing a scene or characters that interact with the audience effectively is challenging for a writer to pull off. Before movies like Deadpool broke the fourth wall, there was Funny Games, one of the most bizarre thrillers ever made.
Funny Games was a controversial psychological thriller written and directed by Michael Haneke in 1997. The movie revolves around a family held captive in their vacation home, where two young men torture them. One of the two men, Paul, constantly breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly. While some critics called Funny Games “disgraceful,” the movie has stuck in the public zeitgeist since its release, and for a good reason.
3 Tape Has A Simple Story, Told In A Highly Engaging Way
2001
Writer/Director Richard Linklater had humble beginnings in the film industry. Before he made huge, critically acclaimed movies like Boyhood, Linklater helmed low-budget flicks, most of which starred frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke. While Linklater and Hawke had worked on numerous great productions together, 2001’s Tape is one of their more underrated team-ups.
Hawke stars alongside Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thruman in Tape, a film revolving around three friends who remember their painful pasts as they talk in a Michigan hotel room. Each actor gives a fantastic performance, perfectly displaying thoroughly flushed personalities as they go through incredible highs and lows. While Linklater’s direction is less flashy than his later works, he captures how these three people’s lives fall apart in incredibly fine detail.
2 Alien Is A Masterpiece Of Horror And Science Fiction
1979
There isn’t a more influential science fiction horror film than the 1979 RIdley Scott-directed Alien. Along with spawning one of the best sequels of all time (Aliens), Alien has influenced sci-fi for decades following its release. Considering Alien’s important legacy to the film industry, it's easy to forget that Alien is very much a movie set in one location, one singular, terrifying spaceship.
The story of desperate survival as a spaceship crew avoids an extraterrestrial acid-blooded killer is a chilling tale featuring one of cinema's greatest designed monsters. Ridley Scott’s masterful filmmaking is equally matched by Sigourney Weaver's fantastic performance as Ellen Ripley. Endlessly suspenseful and terrifying, Alien is a chef-d'oeuvre of movie-making.
1 12 Angry Men Remains One A Truly Great Piece Of Cinema History
1957
1950s Hollywood was both a time of great cinema and turmoil. While many great films were released during the decade, the industry faced stiff competition from the ever-growing TV market. This competitiveness might’ve been indirectly responsible for some of the best movies of all time. Along with Among The Waterfront, Rebel Without A Cause, and Vertigo, one of the most excellent flicks from the era was 1957’s 12 Angry Men.
Since the original release, Hollywood has remade the movie countless times, along with high schools across the country doing the play version. The story of twelve jurors trying to determine if the accused murderer is guilty is carried by twelve powerhouse performances along with one of the best screenplays ever written, all taking place in a single room.