This page lists films set fully, or almost entirely, in only one location. Such films are sometimes called "chamber pieces". [1] [2] [3] In June 2023, film critic Chris Stuckmann speculated that the limitations that chamber pieces bring not only make writers self-conscious but also drive their creativity. [4]
Film | Year | Director | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 Cloverfield Lane | 2016 | Dan Trachtenberg | Set in a bunker. | [5] |
12 Angry Men | 1957 | Sidney Lumet | Set almost entirely in a jury room. | [6] |
12 Angry Men | 1997 | William Friedkin | Remake of 1957 film. | [7] |
127 Hours | 2010 | Danny Boyle | Set in a canyon. | [8] |
1BR | 2019 | David Marmor | Set in an apartment complex. | [9] |
The Antares Paradox | 2022 | Luis Tinoco | Set in a single room | [10] |
All Is Lost | 2013 | J. C. Chandor | Set in the middle of the Indian Ocean, first in a damaged yacht and then in a life raft. | [11] |
Almanac of Fall | 1984 | Béla Tarr | Set in a claustrophobic apartment. | [12] |
Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | John Carpenter | Set in a decommissioned police precinct. | [13] |
ATM | 2012 | David Brooks | Located in and around an ATM booth. | [14] |
Biosphere | 2022 | Mel Eslyn | Located in a shelter. | [15] |
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant | 1972 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Almost totally restricted to the protagonist's bedroom. | [16] |
The Boat | 2018 | Winston Azzopardi | Set on a sailboat. | [17] |
Bodies Bodies Bodies | 2022 | Halina Reijn | Set at a house party. | [18] |
Brake | 2012 | Gabe Torres | Set inside a car trunk. | [19] |
The Breakfast Club | 1985 | John Hughes | Set in high school detention. | [5] |
Brink of Life | 1958 | Ingmar Bergman | Set in a maternity ward. | [20] |
Bullet Train | 2022 | David Leitch | Set in a fictionalized version of the Tokaido Shinkansen. | [21] |
The Bullet Train | 1975 | Junya Satō | Set on a bullet train. | [22] |
Buried | 2010 | Rodrigo Cortés | Set in a coffin. | [23] |
Carnage | 2011 | Roman Polanski | Set in an apartment. | [24] |
Circle | 2015 | Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione | Set in a darkened room. | [25] |
Clerks | 1994 | Kevin Smith | Set in a convenience store. | [26] |
Clue | 1985 | Jonathan Lynn | Set in a mansion. | [26] |
Coherence | 2013 | James Ward Byrkit | Set at a dinner party. | [25] |
Craving | 2023 | J. Horton | Set in a roadside bar. | [27] |
Cube | 1997 | Vincenzo Natali | Set in a large unidentified cube. | [28] |
Cujo | 1983 | Lewis Teague | Set in a car. | [29] |
Deterrence | 1999 | Rod Lurie | Set in a diner. | [30] |
Devil | 2010 | John Erick Dowdle | Set in an elevator. | [25] |
Dial M for Murder | 1954 | Alfred Hitchcock | Set in an apartment. | [26] |
Exam | 2009 | Stuart Hazeldine | Set in an exam hall. | [31] |
Failure! | 2023 | Alex Kahuam | Set in a three-story family home. | [32] |
Fall | 2022 | Scott Mann | Set on top of a TV tower. | [33] |
Feast | 2005 | John Gulager | Set in a tavern. | [34] |
Free Fire | 2016 | Ben Wheatley | Set in an abandoned factory. | [35] |
Friend of the World | 2020 | Brian Patrick Butler | Set in a bunker. | [36] [37] |
Glorious | 2022 | Rebekah McKendry | Set in a public bathroom. | [38] |
Grave Encounters | 2011 | The Vicious Brothers | Set in a psychiatric hospital. | [39] |
Knock at the Cabin | 2023 | M. Night Shyamalan | Set in a cabin in the woods. | [40] |
The Guilty | 2018 | Gustav Möller | Set in a police emergency call center. | [25] |
The Guilty | 2021 | Antoine Fuqua | Remake of the 2018 film. | [25] |
The Hateful Eight | 2015 | Quentin Tarantino | Set in a ranch way station. | [41] |
Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea | 2023 | Tony Olmos | Set in an apartment complex. | [42] [43] |
The Immaculate Room | 2022 | Mukunda Michael Dewil | Set in a large white room. | [44] |
Inside | 2023 | Vasilis Katsoupis | Set in a billionaire's penthouse. | [45] |
The Invitation | 2015 | Karyn Kusama | Set at a dinner party. | [46] |
It's a Disaster | 2012 | Todd Berger | Set in a suburban home. | [5] |
Last Shift | 2014 | Anthony DiBlasi | Set in a police station. | [47] |
Late Night with the Devil | 2024 | Colin & Cameron Cairnes | Set on a late night talk show. | [48] [49] |
Lifeboat | 1944 | Alfred Hitchcock | Set on a lifeboat. | [50] |
Locke | 2013 | Steven Knight | Set in a car. | [51] |
Lord of the Flies | 1963 | Peter Brook | Set on a desert island. | [5] |
Lord of the Flies | 1990 | Harry Hook | Set on a desert island. | [5] |
Malum | 2023 | Anthony DiBlasi | Set in a police station. | [47] |
The Man from Earth | 2007 | Richard Schenkman | Set in a farewell party. | [25] |
Miss Julie | 2014 | Liv Ullmann | Set in a manor house. | [52] |
My Dinner with Andre | 1981 | Louis Malle | Set in Café des Artistes. | [53] |
Next Door | 2021 | Daniel Brühl | Set in a pub. | [54] [55] |
Nine Dead | 2009 | Chris Shadley | Set in a room. | [25] |
No Exit | 2022 | Damien Power | Set in road-side rest stop during a snowstorm. | [56] |
No Through Road | 2009 | Steven Chamberlain | Set on a no through road. | [57] |
One Night in Miami... | 2020 | Regina King | Set almost entirely in a motel room | [58] |
The Outfit | 2022 | Graham Moore | Set in a tailor shop. | [59] |
Panic Room | 2002 | David Fincher | Set in a New York City brownstone. | [5] |
Penny Dreadful | 2006 | Richard Brandes | Set almost entirely in a stranded car in the woods. | [60] |
Perfect Strangers | 2016 | Paolo Genovese | Set around the dinner table. | [61] [62] [63] [64] |
Phone Booth | 2002 | Joel Schumacher | Set in a phone booth. | [65] [66] |
The Platform | 2019 | Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia | Set in a Vertical Self-Management Center. | [25] |
Rear Window | 1954 | Alfred Hitchcock | Set in an apartment. | [26] |
Reservoir Dogs | 1992 | Quentin Tarantino | Set in a warehouse. | [26] |
Room | 2015 | Lenny Abrahamson | Largely confined to a shed. | [67] |
Rope | 1948 | Alfred Hitchcock | Set in an apartment. | [68] |
Shirin | 2008 | Abbas Kiarostami | Set in a living room. | [69] |
Shiva Baby | 2020 | Emma Seligman | Set almost entirely in a shiva home. | [70] |
The Silent House | 1929 | Walter Forde | Set in a house. | [71] |
The Silent House | 2010 | Gustavo Hernández | Set in a house. | [72] |
Silent House | 2011 | Chris Kentis and Laura Lau | Remake of 2010 film. | [73] |
Sleuth | 1972 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Set in a manor house. | [26] |
Snowpiercer | 2013 | Bong Joon-ho | Set in a train. | [5] |
Tape | 2001 | Richard Linklater | Set in a hotel room. | [74] |
Wait Until Dark | 1967 | Terence Young | Set in an apartment. | [26] |
The Whale | 2022 | Darren Aronofsky | Set in an apartment. | [75] |
What Happened Was... | 1994 | Tom Noonan | Set on a date. | [76] |
Quite apart from the single-location set-up, One Night in Miami is undeniably stagey, from the freshly ironed costumes to the slow and steady camerawork to the on-the-nose dialogue.