It seems every movie to come out these days needs to be as large-scale as possible. This isn't, of course, to say they're not great — they certainly are critically and commercially successful. Indeed, there's so much story to be had by movies with no physical boundaries. They're excellent at immersing the viewer in out-of-this-world adventures. Sometimes, however, simplicity is great too. Some of the best scenes in movies aren't world-shaking fights or buildings exploding. They're the moments when the camera gets up close and personal — no running from explosions, no cycling along beautiful mountaintops. When the camera settles into an intimate space with the lead character, the true story comes out. You can get more when you feel as if you're standing face to face with the person on the screen.
Bottle movies, or movies set in one location, pose a unique challenge in keeping the viewer engaged. The story has to be excellent in order to maintain attention. What keeps the films on this list grounded is the simplicity of focus on the human aspects of storytelling. The best stories work because the audience cares about the people involved, regardless of the genre.
Updated December 13th, 2022: If you're a fan of bottle movies, then you'll be happy to know this list has been updated with additional content and titles to keep it fresh and engaging.
Take into consideration the most stressful and dramatic moments that can happen to the average person; most of them are likely to occur in one sitting, in one location. So, when the camera isolates the characters, it makes for uniquely compelling stories. Here are some of the best films shot in a single location.
12 Buried
Ryan Reynolds stars as Paul Conroy, an abducted American truck driver in Iraq who wakes up underground in a wooden box with nothing but a knife, a lighter, and a cell phone. With only hours of oxygen, the film stays on Reynolds in the box for its entire duration as he pieces together how he got there and tries to find a way out. He receives a series of phone calls from his abductors, demanding he makes calls for ransom money and performs tasks like recording a ransom video. He also gets a hold of the FBI for aid and his family.
It's a harrowing story that pushes claustrophobia to new levels as we see one man's desperate attempt to hold on to his life while underground. Ryan Reynolds has stated that the filming of the Buried took place over 16-days and was the most taxing role he'd ever done and never wants to do such an arduous film again. This shows the level of dedication he put forward to making a memorable performance.
11 Clue
Set within a sprawling and secluded New England mansion in 1954, the wildly entertaining whodunit Clue is based on the beloved board game of the same name and centers on six mysterious strangers who each receive an anonymous invitation to gather for a strange dinner. When their enigmatic host winds up dead, it is up to the six guests and the conniving butler Wadsworth to catch the killer.
The black comedy takes place solely at the lavish estate, with Clue's colorful characters hilariously running around its grounds in order to both survive and identify the true culprit. Clue is also unique in the way it executes its ending, as three different outcomes were ultimately revealed to audiences with a specific murderer for each.
10 Locke
IM Global
Before he was rambling to an alien in his body in Venom, Tom Hardy was a dad on a fateful car ride in Locke. Set entirely in a car and through monologues and phone calls, tense drama ensues as Ivan Locke receives notice that a woman from an extra-marital affair is going into premature labor. Choosing not to repeat the sins of his father, he drives to London to be with her, knowing that doing so is putting his whole life on the line. In doing the right thing, he could lose everything. Locke is a tour de force from Hardy as the viewer sees an entire life unravel through a series of phone calls that feel as if we are watching matters of life and death flash on the screen before us.
9 Carnage
An investment banker, Nancy, and her husband Alan pay a visit to the home of the Longstreets to meet with an aspiring writer, Penelope, and her salesman husband, Michael, to discuss an incident between their two eleven-year-old sons at school. As they talk, the four parents eat and drink and gradually change their behaviors towards one another, showing their true feelings about each other and the situation with their kids. In reality, they have no desire to work together, despite the issue being a simple one to resolve.
Carnage is based on a stage play of the same name and takes place entirely in the home of the Longstreets as the afternoon descends into madness. It's an absurd character study that shows a conversation between parents about children devolve to the point where the parents begin behaving like kids themselves.
8 Coherence
Coherence is an under-the-radar gem is set entirely at a dinner party between eight friends. While becoming reacquainted, a comet passes overhead and leads to a strange and unexplainable phenomenon. First, the phones crack before the power goes out, putting the friends in darkness. Next, they discover themselves, and not in a metaphorical sense. Somehow, the comet has created doubles of everyone at the party.
The friends try to work together to figure out what is going on. Unfortunately, they will soon find out that not everyone at the party is who they claim to be. While this film stays set in one house, one could argue, upon viewing this film, whether it is a bottle film, as reality is also questionable as the afternoon descends into chaos and distrust in a sci-fi film where nothing is exactly as it seems.
7 The Guilty (Original Danish Film)
Set in an emergency response call center, this Danish thriller follows Asger as he works through his last day on dispatch duty before a hearing for an on-duty incident. He takes a call from a woman who indicates that she has been abducted. Asger struggles from behind a call center desk to save the woman's life before harm can befall her or her children.
However, he will soon discover that the danger is more significant than it seems. The Guilty is a pulse-pounding ride that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The action takes place entirely over the phone, making for a story that would not be half as good as it is if not for stellar writing and impressive acting from film lead Jakob Cedergren. Jake Gyllenhaal gave a good performance in the remake for Netflix, but it's hard to top this original film.
6 Conspiracy
During World War II, there was a meeting to discuss the practice and implementation of the extermination of the Jewish population in Europe. Unfortunately, there was no documentation or recording of the existence of the meeting as it was kept secret. All documentation was destroyed, except for a log of the minutes belonging to one of the attending officers found in the German Foreign Offices after the war. Conspiracy depicts the meeting between Nazi officers that takes place in a Villa in Wannsee.
The debate about one of history's darkest extermination attempts is both horrifying and captivating at the same time as the meeting see's cold deliberation on human lives as well as subtle intimidation for cooperation. While not a horror movie, the presence of evil is felt throughout in cold and callous performances of influential individuals that were very real.
5 The Breakfast Club
John Hughes' cherished '80s coming-of-age classic The Breakfast Club is without-a-doubt one of both the cinema's and legendary director's most celebrated and memorable films. Set at Shermer High School on March 24, 1984, the winning teen dramedy follows five vastly different students as they convene for Saturday detention, with the group described as "a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal." The Hughes hit takes place primarily in the school's library, but the misfits end up sneaking out and exploring some of the building's other areas while stuck receiving their punishment.
The Breakfast Club has been hailed as the quintessential movie of the 1980s and has landed on numerous critics and publication lists as one of the greatest films of all time. The teen flick also features "Brat Pack" members Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Ally Sheedy, a term that was first-coined in 1985 by New York Magazine to describe the young, sensational actors.
4 The Man From Earth
Anchor Bay
The entire film primarily takes place in a single room at the home of John Oldman, a professor who claims to be ageless, having been alive for over 1,400 years. His colleagues, who had arrived for a farewell party, debate the validity of his absurd claims, which include having been born in the Paleolithic era, being a disciple of Buddha, and owning a Van Gogh painting gifted by the man himself. The story that Oldman recites is delightfully entertaining and provides an alternative way of looking at the world. The Man From Earth is one of the quintessential bottle films out there, due in part to the excellent performances from the cast.
3 Rope
Adapted from a stage play of the same name, this Alfred Hitchcock classic takes place in a single apartment. It follows the attempts of two upper-class college men attempting to prove their superiority by getting away with the perfect murder. Hitchcock is known for his ability to take a single setting and turn it into a breeding ground for tension and suspense, and Rope is the perfect example of a master's work. Perfectly edited to appear as one shot, we see a dinner party take place after the students have committed this crime, an occasion filled with twists and turns. Unlike most crime thrillers, the audience knows exactly what crime was done and by whom. They need only hope that one of the guests figures it out.
2 Rear Window
Hitchcock's work is just too good only to have one spot on this list. Rear Window is in just about every "best film" list you'll find, and rightly so. Taking place in the apartment of Jeff, who is confined to a wheelchair, he spends his dull days spying on the neighbors across the street from him when they are forced to open their windows to alleviate unbearable heat. As time goes on, he starts to become more engrossed in his voyeurism, but things take a turn that he could never have imagined.
While spying, he witnesses what he thinks may have been a murder in progress. He becomes increasingly convinced of such the more he watches. Audiences are left baffled as they try with Jeff to piece together the mystery based on the minor incidental tidbits they get and a film that's as engaging as it is thrilling.
1 12 Angry Men
The number one spot for best bottle has to go to the most memorable of them all. 12 Angry Men takes place in a jury deliberation room as the jurors to a murder trial are tasked with deciding the fate of a young man accused of murdering his father. Most of the jurors were ready to put the impoverished youth away and go about their day, but throughout an evening, they pick apart the facts and evidence and look at the case from different angles.
The stress of the case gradually starts to weigh down on the men as it becomes clear that it's not just the evidence they need to examine, it's themselves. They must also look inwards and question their own biases and morals to decide if they can condemn a man to a fate he may not deserve. Gripping from beginning to end, Sidney Lumet's great film 12 Angry Men has withstood the test of time and remains unbeaten in storytelling.