43 One-Location Movies Holding You On The Edge Of Your Seat

 

 

What happens when twelve strangers come together in one room summoned by their civic duty? As jury members, they are here to decide the fate of a young man who is accused of killing his father, and they can’t go home until they come to a unanimous decision. A study of human nature and the justice system, this film hasn’t lost its captivating power until today.

 

 

At the end of his three-year contract as the sole operator of a helium-3 mining station on the moon, Sam Bell suddenly realizes he is not the only person at the station. And is he even a person at all?

 

 

Another one-location masterpiece from Hitchcock, this black comedy where two students try to prove that murder can be art is not only set in one place, it is also shot in just one take. The entirety of the 80 minutes of the film is what was shot in real time.

 

 

Leave it to Alfred Hitchcock to create a story that will keep you at the edge of your seat with its only location being as small as a lifeboat. When several British and American civilians and one German soldier find themselves struggling to survive after both their ships sank, tensions grow from the internal conflict as well as the external danger of dying at sea.

 

 

When photographer Jeffries is stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg, his only entertainment is watching his neighbors’ lives through the rear window of his apartment. One thing he didn’t expect to see was something that reeked of murder. This film is a masterclass on how to write and direct a murder mystery that not only takes place in one location but also is told through the eyes of an inactive observer, yet remains full of suspense.

One spaceship, seven people, one cat. But is that all there is on board the Nostromo? Stuck in the vacuum of outer space, the crew faces the worst nightmare of their lives, fighting against an alien with almost no way to escape.

 

 

A classic Cluedo game comes to life for the characters of this film who all gather in a mansion, summoned by someone who knows one dark secret about each of them. As the mysterious host is killed, they all have to figure out who did it, or else everyone will fall victim.

 

 

On the run from the mob, Grace arrives at Dogville, a place that offers her no support or protection. Her vulnerability is even more poignant here, as every street and every building in the town is just a chalk outline. The feeling of desperation this cinematic technique creates makes this film an incredible watch.

 

 

The action rarely leaves the store where two lazy clerks do anything except their work: from discussing movies to troubling customers to playing hockey on the roof.

Canyoneer Aron Ralston embarks on a hike without telling anyone of his plans. When he gets stuck between the mountain and a boulder that trapped his right arm, Aron has no hope for help to come. He has only so much time to free himself before he dies of dehydration and hunger. The chilling tension intensifies as the viewers remember that this film is based on a true story. 

 

 

What can two old friends talk about when they meet up for dinner? Everything and nothing. One of the finest examples of minimalism in visual arts, this film will surprise you with its rich intellectual content, despite being seemingly devoid of any action.

 

Cast: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holms 

 

How exciting can it be watching a man inside a phone booth for the runtime of a feature film? As the protagonist is threatened by a sniper who will shoot him on the spot if he leaves the said booth, his past will come back to haunt him.

 

 

Escape rooms are fun when you are there with friends and know that someone’s waiting outside to bring you out if you don’t solve the puzzle. But when you find yourself in a cube-shaped room with several strangers and each unsolved puzzle will result in death, it stops being a game and turns into survival.

 

 

Five teenagers of very different social positions, interests, and characters are put together in the school library to serve detention. Over the course of one Saturday, they will confront each other and their own struggles. As the main action doesn’t go outside the school building and only lasts one day, it becomes more focused and impactful in delivering the message.

 

The events of this film took place in real life several years before it was made. After two bank robbers fail to do their job and find themselves surrounded in the building, they take the bank employees hostage to try and bail out of the situation.

A film completely set inside a moving car, it doesn’t offer any exciting chase scenes or action-movie-style plot twists. Yet, it keeps you deeply invested, rooting for the protagonist, all thanks to expert storytelling and Tom Hardy’s exceptional acting.

 

 

A ticking clock is a sure mechanism to create tension. When this mechanism works within a closed space, with most of the participants not even knowing what they are racing against, the scale of the resulting chaos is difficult to predict. This is exactly what happens to the job candidates who come for an exam and realize that their exam papers are blank.

 

 

Two people are stuck in an underground bunker with a third person who claims to have saved them from an alien attack. But the more they interact with their supposed rescuer, the more they start suspecting that the real situation is different. Despite being a sequel, the story manages to keep you in suspense till the very end.

 

 

Three thugs break into an apartment believing that a doll stuffed with heroin is hidden somewhere within its walls. The blind woman who lives in the apartment has to outsmart them to prevent the drugs from falling into the wrong hands as well as to save her own life.

 

 

When a fiction writer who specializes in debunking supernatural stories is warned against entering room 1408 in the NYC Dolphin Hotel, he takes it as a challenge and does exactly the opposite, exposing himself to the horror that lives inside. This being a Stephen King adaptation, you can only imagine what blood-freezing scares lie ahead.