Films in (Mostly) Confined Spaces
Most of these are mind-bending or puzzle films, with some psychological thrillers and drama mixed in. I'm fascinated by the "what if" premise and narrative/structural constraints most of these films evolve from, and the epistemological and ontological questions they pose to their viewers as they internalize the rules of the (mind) game.
No comedies yet - let me know if you can think of some. More to be added as I remember/ watch them.
No comedies yet - let me know if you can think of some. More to be added as I remember/ watch them.
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- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorAndrzej SekulaStarsKari MatchettGeraint Wyn DaviesGrace Lynn KungEight strangers awaken with no memory, in a puzzling cube-shaped room where the laws of physics do not always apply.
- DirectorErnie BarbarashStarsZachary BennettStephanie MooreMartin RoachA young programmer whose job is to watch over the reality-warping Cube defies orders to rescue an innocent mother trapped in one of its rooms.
- DirectorLuis PiedrahitaRodrigo SopeñaStarsAlejo SaurasElena BallesterosLluís Homar4 mathematicians are invited to solve an enigma. Once there, they're locked in a mechanically shrinking room and given 1 minute to solve each puzzle via cellphone while also figuring out why they're there.
- DirectorAaron HannMario MiscioneStarsAllegra MastersAimee McKayAshley KeyHeld captive and faced with their imminent executions, fifty strangers are forced to choose the one person among them who deserves to live.
- DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsBrie LarsonJacob TremblaySean BridgersA little boy is held captive in a room with his mother since his birth, so he has never known the world outside.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsDan NachtsheimJoy CarmichaelDavid MunsonWhile monitored and pursued, a man races to escape through a futuristic labyrinth.
- DirectorJeffrey BloomStarsLouise FletcherVictoria TennantKristy SwansonChildren are hidden away under an attic by their conspiring mother and grandmother.
- DirectorStuart HazeldineStarsAdar BeckGemma ChanNathalie CoxEight candidates for a highly desirable corporate job are locked together in an exam room and given a final test with just one seemingly simple question. However, it doesn't take long for confusion to ensue and tensions to unravel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartJohn DallFarley GrangerTwo men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
- DirectorJohn Erick DowdleStarsChris MessinaCaroline DhavernasBokeem WoodbineA group of people are trapped in an elevator and the Devil is mysteriously amongst them.
- DirectorStig SvendsenStarsChristopher BackusAníta BriemJohn GetzRacism collides with corporate greed when nine strangers - one of whom has a bomb - become trapped in a Wall Street elevator.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsMoritz BleibtreuChristian BerkelOliver StokowskiFor two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
- DirectorJonathan LiebesmanStarsNick CannonClea DuVallTimothy HuttonFour individuals sign up for a psychological research study only to discover that they are now subjects of a brutal, classified government program.
- DirectorPhilippe MartinezStarsVal KilmerArmand AssanteEric RobertsA deranged scientist locks 6 people in a steam room and threatens to turn up the heat if the local paper doesn't publish his story about global warming.
- DirectorJames WanStarsCary ElwesLeigh WhannellDanny GloverTwo strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
- DirectorTom SixStarsDieter LaserWinter WilliamsAshlynn YennieA mad scientist kidnaps and mutilates a trio of tourists in order to reassemble them into a human centipede, created by stitching their mouths to each others' rectums.
- DirectorJaume Collet-SerraStarsLiam NeesonDiane KrugerJanuary JonesWhen a man awakens from a coma only to discover that someone has taken on his identity, he teams up with a young woman to prove who he is.
- DirectorWes BallStarsDylan O'BrienKaya ScodelarioWill PoulterThomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.
- DirectorJames DeMonacoStarsEthan HawkeLena HeadeyMax BurkholderA wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJodie FosterKristen StewartForest WhitakerA divorced woman and her diabetic daughter take refuge in their newly-purchased house's safe room when three men break-in, searching for a missing fortune.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsNaomi WattsTim RothMichael PittTwo psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.