10 Nerve-racking Single Room Suspense Thrillers

A current style towards well crafted, nerve-racking concept suspense thrillers that take place in just one location/single room, and the  fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces has truly peaked. The list of favorite mystery thrillers that take place in just one room/location..."Once You Are In, There Is No Way Out".

10. Buried (2010)

***As Poster Says - A Brilliantly Twisted Suspense***

"Paul Conroy: I'm buried in a box. I'm buried in a box!"

"Paul Conroy: I need one million dollars by nine o'clock tonight or I'll be left to die in this coffin!"

Ryan Reynolds is a civilian contractor in Iraq who drives trucks, but he is caught in an ambush and wakes up in a coffin buried somewhere in the desert, and all he has is a mobile phone and a zippo lighter. The question is how does he escape. Ryan Reynolds was quite brilliant, its definitely a departure from his more recent chick flicks.

Let's be honest : A movie with just one Actor, which also takes place in a coffin , should be a masterpiece to make you watch it without getting bored for even one second. Not even a single shot includes the world " Outside " and that means you are in the coffin with the character for about 90 minutes and you can feel him. His moves , his anger , and mostly his desperate need of help.

9. The Tenant (1976)

***Creepy As Hell And A Sardonic Psychological Thriller***

"Trelkovsky: If you cut off my head, what would I say... Me and my head, or me and my body? What right has my head to call itself me?"

"The Tenant" shares similarities with other Polanski films such as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. Polanski plays the role of man, who turns psychotic, while residing in an apartment unit whose previous tenant jumped out the window. The first two-thirds of the movie moves along slowly, but gets more interesting after that.

In contrast to "Rosemary's Baby", you don't get the final conclusion on a silver platter. The dismal paranoia thriller puts forward with a lot of appearances and a bit of reality. It's up to the viewer to adjust the multifarious hints given throughout the film.

8. Phone Booth (2002) 

***Simple, Innovative And Engaging All The Way***

"The Caller: You're in this position because you're not telling the truth.

Stu: No, I'm in this f***ing position because YOU HAVE A GUN!" 

"Phone Booth" plot is simple, a man held hostage in a phone booth by a sniper seems a bit dry in retrospect, but the duo of Colin Farrell and Kiefer Sutherland dazzle the screen with a fiery electricity that burns throughout the film.

Director Joel Schumacher uses bits of flashy camera-work here and there, but in no way does the film try to rely on it. No, the film is fully supported by the engaging dialogue. I highly recommend this film if you haven't seen it. It may be old but it is still good. Find out what real suspense is... In the phone booth.

7. Panic Room (2002)

***Fincher's Severely Underrated And A Sadistic Suspense Thriller***

"Junior: How do we get in to that room?

Raoul: Hey! What is funny about this?... Is this shit funny yo you?

Burnham: Well, I spent the last 12 years of my life building these rooms specifically to keep out people like us.

Junior: Ow, It's all so ironic and amusing, okay? Now, How do we get in?

Junior: We can't... we can't get in the panic room. That's the whole point. We have to get her to come out." 

"Panic Room", a mother and her diabetic daughter move into a chic Manhattan townhouse which has a panic room made expressly for emergencies. It so happens, it also contains bonds worth in excess of millions. Three thieves are after these bonds and will stop at nothing to get their hands on them. They break into the apartment, forcing mother and daughter to hide in the panic room while the daughter's medication is still on the outside.

David Fincher decided to follow his mind-blowing masterpiece "Fight Club" by directing "Panic Room." His greatest brilliance lies in cinematography (lighting and framing shots, camera movement and placement) and editing, and those aspects of course cannot be captured on paper.

David Fincher will one day be recognized as one of our greatest filmmakers, as long as he keeps making films like this.

6. Cube (1997)

***Intriguing Concept And A Striking Thriller Film***

"Worth: Hey! Listen to what I'm saying. We haven't been moving in circles, the rooms have."

"Leaven: This room moves to 0, 1, and -1 on the X-axis, 2, 5, and -7 on the Y and 1, -1, and 0 on zed.
Quentin: And what does that mean?
Leaven: You suck at math."

"Cube" is a philosophical/science-fiction masterpiece. Intense, compelling and claustrophobic, this movie is hypnotic throughout. A group of individuals is mysteriously ensnared in a deathtrap cube wherein to escape primal instincts and human emotions are examined and tested to the limit...and perhaps beyond.

It's an excellent view of the human element, more specifically how people react when placed in a stressful and life-threatening situation. For those who have not heard of this movie before may find this sounding familiar: The idea behind Saw. A must see for everyone, even no sci-fi movie lovers.

5. Saw (2004)

***Powerful, Sharp And Worth Watching Thriller***

"John: Hello, Mr. Hindle. Or as they called you around the hospital: Zepp. I want you to make a choice. There's a slow-acting poison coursing through your system, which only I have the antidote for. Will you murder a mother and her child to save yourself? Listen carefully, if you will. There are rules."

Two men wake up in an isolated room only to find themselves chained by their feet to walls from a distance from each other. Neither of them have any idea where they are, how they got there or who might have kidnapped them. Soon they discover clues as to what they need to do to survive this sick test, designed by a maniac who is referred to as the "Jigsaw".

One of the best thriller/mysteries to come out. This film just trapped me and engaged me from the beginning. The performances were first rate, the plot was perfectly crafted, the screenplay was written pretty carefully and crafted perfectly. The last 5 minutes of the movie will really shake you up. It is a must see movie, you cannot miss it.

4. Das Experiment (2001)

***Interesting, Intense And An Excellent Psycho-Thriller Drama***

"Tarek Fahd, Häftling Nr. 77: Test subjects wanted. Earn 4000 marks for a 14-day experiment in a simulated prison."

"Das Experiment" film is based on the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted in 1971 and the first part is somewhat faithful to how the experiment went. Of course this gives it the German Avant-garde treatment which makes it more interesting. The acting was good, especially Moritz Bleibtreu from Run Lola Run, and the others did a good job.

It's excellent on every level. The story is interesting and engaging, the performances are top knot, the prison location is suitably stark and oppressive. Not exactly a horror film - but I would definitely recommend this one to horror and action/drama fans as one of the more tense and suspenseful films I've seen in quite a while. Highly Recommended. 

3. Repulsion (1965)

***Roman Polanski's One Of The Best Psychological And Disturbing Thriller Ever***

"The nightmare world of a virgin's dreams becomes the screen's shocking reality!"

"Repulsion" Carol is a very attractive and beautiful girl who lives with her elder sister, and works in a beauty salon. She is a very reserved girl and always remains scared of men. Maybe something from her childhood, kept haunting her. Terrible things began to happen to her when she left alone in her apartment for 10 days, like claustrophobic hallucinations and she began to grew disturbing rape fantasies.

Catherine Deneuve's performance is fantastic--she plays it just right. Quite an accomplishment considering she was only 22 at the time! Roman Polanski's direction, beautiful black and white photography and effective use of sound really helps the film. Ahead of its time.

So just watch "Repulsion" and you'll see what a thriller movie can really be. And it just might save your life.

2. Misery (1990)

***Obsession, Gripping And Kathy Bates Best Performance***

"Annie Wilkes: I am your number one fan. There is nothing to worry about. You are going to be just fine. I am your number one fan."

"Annie Wilkes: MISERY IS ALIVE, MISERY IS ALIVE! OH, This whole house is going to be full of romance, O OOH, I AM GOING TO PUT ON MY LIBERACE RECORDS!"

A popular romance novelist crashes his car in a blizzard, but is luckily saved by homely nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates, Water boy's Mom). She is his self-proclaimed number one fan, which he laughs off at first but soon discovers to be eerily true. As she nurses him back to health in her snowbound house, she discovers that the next book in her beloved Misery series is the last. The pure greatness of this film comes from her shift from caring adoring fan to psychotic captor.

KATHY BATES turns MISERY into one of the scariest horror films ever made from a Stephen King novel. It's a compact thriller with a plot that is never too complicated and characters that are just deep enough to make it an above average piece of entertainment if you like the King's brand of pulp fiction.

1. Rear Window (1954)

***Suspense And Alfred Hitchcock's At His Very Best***

"L.B. Jeffries: That's no ordinary look. That's the kind of a look a man gives when he's afraid somebody might be watching him."

"Stella: The insurance company would be much happier if you'd sleep in bed at night instead of in that wheelchair...Your eyes are all bloodshot. You must have been watching out that window for hours."

"Rear Window" is considered one of Hitchcock's classics, and is probably Jimmy Stewart's most popular Hitchcock Role. Stewart plays an adventure-seeking photographer who is laid up for seven weeks in his apartment with a broken leg. During this time, he has become vicariously involved with his neighbors; looking out his rear windows and following their lives. As the final week of his incapacity begins, he begins to suspect that one of his neighbors has killed his wife, and pretty soon his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) and nurse (Thelma Ritter) realize that he may be right.

The film is classy and the rich colors and ordinary setting are nicely in contrast with the action of all the main characters. The mystery is well delivered and engages in a gently dramatic fashion while the starry cast are impressive and interesting throughout.

An experimental visual exercise, a romantic drama, an examination of the cinema watching experience; and of course a witty, supremely acted and immaculately directed thriller. Much more than meets the eye!

Honorable Mentions:

There are so many films based on claustrophobic concept and It's hard to list out all of them at once. Check more similar movies like these: Pontypool (2008), Unknown (2006), 1408 (2007), Devil (2010), The Killing Room (2009), 13 Tzameti (2005), Exam (2009).

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