'The Guilty' and 4 Other Brilliant Thrillers Set In Confined Space, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
These movies draw us into their cramped, stuffy worlds, from which it is difficult to escape.
Cinema often shows us that incredible tension can be created without vast locations or hordes of characters.
A story that unfolds in a confined space is the perfect laboratory for exploring the human psyche, allowing the director's and actors' skills to take center stage.
5. 'Tape', 2001
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
Drug dealer Vince and filmmaker Jon, who were once friends, meet in a hotel room during a film festival. They start with fond memories of their youth, but the conversation turns serious when Vince claims that Jon raped his girlfriend, Amy. Soon, Amy joins them.
What unfolds in the hotel room is a true thriller about three people with complex relationships, and viewers can decide whom to sympathize with.
4. 'Buried', 2010
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
Paul, a former driver in Iraq, wakes up in a box. He soon realizes that he is lying in a coffin but has no memory of how he got there.
He has only a lighter and a phone. He calls 911 and everyone he can think of. Time to escape is running out.
The action doesn't unfold in just one room – Ryan Reynolds' character lies on the floor and talks on the phone the entire time while the other characters appear as mere voices or short clips on his phone.
3. 'Sanctuary', 2022
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%
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Rebecca comes to Hal's apartment and sets up an interview for him. However, it soon becomes clear that the entire situation is a role-playing game between a wealthy man and a hired dominatrix.
After the session, Hal announces that he has gotten a new position and that they need to stop meeting. However, Rebecca has other plans.
Starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, the movie successfully balances thriller and comedy elements. Throughout the film, the characters try to sort out their relationships, argue, make up, and even dance.
2. 'Rope', 1948
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
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One day, two friends murdered a fellow student simply as an experiment. They strangle him with a rope and hide the body in a chest. Then, they threw a party in the apartment where the body was hidden and invited the victim's father, his fiancée, and a professor.
Alfred Hitchcock made an experimental movie. For Rope, they built special retractable sets that could be changed as the camera panned.
This approach makes Rope extremely tense – the viewer literally watches in real time as the characters come to terms with their actions.
1. 'The Guilty', 2018
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Former police officer Asger was transferred to work as a dispatcher for the Danish emergency services. One day, he receives a call from a woman who hints at her own kidnapping. Asger tries to help the victim but gradually realizes that the situation is more complicated than it seems.
The Guilty is a dynamic and tense thriller that blends the topic of kidnapping with the main character's personal struggles.
The entire movie shows only Asger in the control room and the rest of the events are narrated by voices on the phone.
