The 10 Best Films Set in a Single Location

[Hunter Rider]

The 10 Best Films Set in a Single Location - ComingSoon.net

Comingsoon keeping their top 10's coming as well, I'm really surprised Die Hard isn't on the list.

 

[Broseph44]

Love Phone Booth.

 

[flickchick85]

Die Hard is a glaring omission and someone should be fired.

For real, though:

1.) Die Hard
2.) 12 Angry Men
3.) Rear Window
4.) Rope
5.) Lifeboat
6.) Locke
7.) The Hateful Eight
8.) Buried
9.) Phone Booth
10.) Carnage

 

[Broseph44]

Die Hard is a glaring omission and someone should be fired.

For real, though:

1.) Die Hard
2.) 12 Angry Men
3.) Rear Window
4.) Rope
5.) Lifeboat
6.) Locke
7.) The Hateful Eight
8.) Buried
9.) Phone Booth
10.) Carnage

Rear Window and Hateful Eight

 

[Dark Raven]

I can only think of Rear Window, Rope and Die Hard.

But Die Hard isn't really only in a single location as such. He does move about in that building. Maybe that's why Die Hard isn't in that list?

In Rear Window, James Stewart is stuck in that room in his wheelchair all day. And in Rope it's set entirely in that room where the Leopold and Loeb wannabes invite their guests to dinner.

 

[Broseph44]

Clue definitely

 

[Mandon Knight]

Rope, Lifeboat, The Breakfast Club, Clerks, Das Boot, Rear Window & 12 Angry Men.

 

[Dark Raven]

How about the Shallows? That's is sort of almost only in one location apart from a few scenes at the beginning. Blake Lively is stuck on that rock with a shark swimming round her. She's certainly in that stretch of sea for the whole film anyway.

 

[Broseph44]

Castaway could maybe sort of count in a way? The island is a big portion of the film. It’s probably cheating slightly but it can sort of fit the qualification if we wanna stretch the rules a bit haha

 

[Mandon Knight]

Not necessarily as a film in it's 'total' but as a performance in terms of demand on focus, Locke with Tom Hardy must be considered, the entire film is dependent upon him.

 

[Dark Raven]

Oh, I've seen Exam, which is on that list. Completely forgot about that one.

There's also that Robert Redford film "All is Lost", which also only has him, and has no dialogue. I think they lost the soundtrack and dialogue track, which is why they named it "All is Lost".

 

[Luigi]

In no particular order:

Alien
Green Room
The Hateful Eight
Predator
The Thing
Phone Booth
Splinter
Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead 1978/2004
Day of the Dead
Saw
10 Cloverfield Lane
The Shallows

Love Phone Booth.

Love that one.

 

[Hunter Rider]

1.) Die Hard
2.) Rear Window
3.) Cliffhanger
4.) The Rock
5.) Air Force One
6.) Under Siege
7.) 12 Angry Men
8.) Phone Booth
9.) Alien
10.) Dead Calm

 

[Dark Raven]

1.) Die Hard
2.) Rear Window
3.) Cliffhanger
4.) The Rock
5.) Air Force One
6.) Under Siege
7.) 12 Angry Men
8.) Phone Booth
9.) Alien
10.) Dead Calm

The Rock is not limited to one particular location. There's that car chase in the streets all over San Francisco. It's only towards the 2nd half of the film that Connery and Cage actually get to Alcatraz.

And I don't know if Alien really qualifies either. Otherwise we could start throwing in films like Star Trek (it could all take place on the Enterprise), 2001, or Passengers and Gravity.

It's a bit different to films like Rear Window or Rope which really take place only in one location.

 

[AResistor]

Die Hard isn't on that list since it wasn't all one location and many of the films noted above that aren't on Coming Soon wouldn't qualify as well.

Since others might be confused on what qualifies and what doesn't --

"Single location" is really a filmmaking term - it means the film was all shot in one location or could easily be. These films also catch on with studio executives because they are known to be very, very cheap to make.

Die Hard was shot on various sound stages and production lots - ergo it's not on the list nor would it be considered a "single location" film by professionals.

To go further, many haunted house movies wouldn't even qualify despite these films mostly taking place in a singular house - since typically these films show the characters lives or researching outside of the house as well, even if it's minimal it requires additional locations/sound-stages/etc. 'The Strangers' would since from beginning to end, it's one house over one night and the only exterior is the exterior of the house itself. Many "single location" films are close to real-time.

In short, it's a short-hand term industry professionals use to designate cheap films to make since only ONE location is needed which cuts down on costs. If Phone Booth is throwing anyone for a loop - which it seems like it could be - all of it was shot (I believe) in one day, Times Square is considered the location and the shooting was more like a broadway stage play despite the location itself being luxurious. It's also, to my knowledge, the most expensive one.

Rear Window - while it may seem like many locations since he looks out the window, that film would be "single location" since it all sticks to his room and the entire neighborhood was actually just one sound stage. Disturbia, on the other hand, wouldn't be.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Not sure if it counts, but my favourite would have to be The Thing.