Films set in one location — also known as a bottle movie — are a long-standing fixture in cinema. There are definite benefits for filmmakers when it comes to these types of movies, as they often have a smaller cast, crew, and, thus, budget. However, bottle movies offer up their own set of challenges as well. The success of the project relies heavily on the quality of the script and the acting skills of the few main characters. The sets of bottle movies can vary in size, from the inside of a home to something as small as a coffin. Such extremely small sets can restrict the filming options in terms of camera angles and other cinematic choices. Due to all of these variables, there isn’t much wiggle room for interpretation and the films often end up being either a big hit or a huge miss.
Bottle movies often come packaged as suspense, which the confined nature of the genre lends itself well to, or as more thought-provoking, voyeuristic projects. There is often an element of social commentary within the more conversational scripts, such as the classic 12 Angry Men (1957), which is set in a single room and follows the jury deliberation in a murder trial. More recently, there have been films in this vein such as The Sunset Limited (2011), which portrays a Black man (Samuel L. Jackson) trying to convince a white man (Tommy Lee Jones) not to commit suicide.
Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense himself, was influential in establishing bottle movies as a genre, specifically with Rear Window. The acclaimed film was a great example of how a restricted set could create a thrilling combination of suspense andvoyeurism, as viewers are trapped in an apartment with the main character as he watches life outside his window. In celebration of this unique category of film, here are six of the most suspenseful bottle thrillers of the 2000s, ranked.
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6 Flightplan (2005)
Buena Vista Pictures
Jodie Foster has proven herself as a formidable actress over the course of her film career, which is highlighted by the multiple bottle thrillers she’s starred in. Both Flightplan and Panic Room focus on a mother trying to save her daughter, while fighting against captors, the clock, and psychological torment.
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Flightplan centers on Foster as a mother, Kyle Pratt, whose daughter disappears on an international flight that is also transporting her recently-deceased husband’s body. Not only must she locate her young child on the massive aircraft, but Kyle must also prove her sanity as the crew and other passengers try to convince her that her daughter was never on the flight in the first place. She is told that Julia passed away along with her father and what Kyle is convinced is an abduction is actually just a figment of her grieving imagination. Viewers are along for the flight, as they try to figure out exactly what is going on before the plane lands.
5 Exam (2009)
Bedlam Productions/Hazeldine Films
Exam is another psychological thriller, from British screenwriter and director Stuart Hazeldine. The plot follows a group of people who sit for what they believe is an employment assessment exam. The group, known only by their Candidate numbers and the descriptors assigned to them (White, Black, Chinese, Blonde, Brown, Brunette, Dark, and Deaf), are given blank sheets of paper and mysterious instructions. What follows is an escape-room of sorts — The Breakfast Club meets The Experiment — as the candidates try to puzzle out what is expected of them and why.
As the candidates begin to turn on each other, all hoping to be the last one standing, Exam becomes a fantastic study in human behavior as well as a locked-room mystery. The viewers and the candidates share the same amount of information — that is, nothing — and thus the film takes us along on the journey to find answers. You can pick a favorite, but you’ll have to watch to the end to find out who makes it through. Notable cast members include Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians), Pollyanna McIntosh (The Walking Dead), and Jimi Mistry (Coronation Street).
4 7500 (2019)
Patrick Vollwrath’s directorial debut, 7500, is another action-thriller that takes place solely on an airplane. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the lead role, First Officer Tobias Ellis, a pilot of an international flight that is hijacked by terrorists mid-air. As if the set location couldn’t get any smaller, the majority of the film is filmed inside the cockpit itself as Tobias attempts to keep the hijackers out and the plane in the air.
Rather than relying on blockbuster-esque fight scenes, 7500 focuses more on the minute details and frightening realities that such a situation would cause. Gordon-Levitt’s emotional performance was praised by critics for lending a sense of authenticity to the film. This movie is a great option for viewers who enjoy throwing themselves into the midst of a crisis and getting their heart pounding.
3 Panic Room (2002)
Sony Pictures
Similarly to Flightplan, Panic Room stars Jodie Foster as a determined mom, Meg Altman, trapped in a scary situation with her daughter, Sarah. The diabetic tomboy is played by a young Kristen Stewart in one of her first breakout roles. The movie follows Meg and Sarah after they lock themselves in a panic room during a home invasion.
Unfortunately for everyone, what the thieves are looking for is inside the secure room. What follows is a life-and-death game of chicken between the intruders, as they attempt to break into the room, and the family, who are in desperate need of medication they don’t have with them. The movie is set entirely within the characters’ home and features Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam as the ragtag group of criminals.
2 Phone Booth (2002)
20th Century Fox
Phone Booth is a thriller starring Colin Farrell as a self-obsessed adulterer, Stuart “Stu” Shepard, who becomes trapped in a phone booth by a mysterious sniper who knows intimate details about his life. In the subsequent 81 minutes, Stu must ward off aggressive bystanders, participate in a stand-off with police, and is forced to confess his sins to save his own life and the lives of his wife and girlfriend. Phone Booth was one of the first commercially successful films of Farrell’s career and helped establish him as a serious Hollywood actor.
Keifer Sutherland plays the role of the sniper and is able to invoke the feeling of fear and violence almost entirely through voice alone. Phone Booth is a film set in real-time, similar to the 2001-2010 television series 24 in which Sutherland played the lead role, which enhances the intensity of the story as viewers watch through the looking-glass of their screens to see what kind of violence is going to unfold right in front of them.
1 Buried (2010)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Reynolds is the star of this psychological thriller by Rodrigo Cortes, and plays an American man named Paul Conroy who is a civilian working in Iraq. Paul wakes up one morning to find himself buried alive inside a coffin. He only has a few items with him — a lighter, pen, flashlight, pocketknife, glow stick, full flask, and a Blackberry — and he must use these tools to figure out where he is and how to get out before he runs out of air.
Buriedis a gripping thriller that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Reynolds shines in this role filled with fear, frustration, and determination. He is able to carry almost the whole film on his facial expressions and tone of voice alone — and had to overcome serious claustrophobia during filming. Buried is also a cinematic feat, having successfully established 95 minutes of suspense in such a confined space with limited camera angles and narrative options.
