The state of Colorado just sent out a statewide alert notifying everyone in the state that there is a mandatory lock down for the next several weeks. Absolutely no outdoor excursions of any kind unless they are essential. And it’s not just Colorado, stories like this are rippling across the globe. We are all on lock down with Covid-19 breathing down our necks. The other day, I figured we could all spend time locked in together watching pandemic films, and today?? Today, I’m bringing you closed box films that will make your quarantine look like a veritable cornucopia of space!! Claustrophobic Movies For Surviving Your Quarantine.
I chose the criteria for the ranking and the scoring of these recommendations quite deliberately. You see, to get to the top of this list, you’ll need to have two things, quality & claustrophobia. The better the film, the better the score and the tighter the space, the higher the score. Got it? The top of this list might as well be shot in a paper bag. Trust me, you’ll see. And if you know anything about me, you know that I absolutely love closed box movies. Adore them, so I am bringing you twenty of the tightest, and most exhilarating films that are worth your quarantine time.
#20 – Infinity Chamber – After a man is accused of a crime and locked in a computer-automated prison, he undergoes a mind interrogation method that forces him to keep reliving the same day for the purpose of collecting evidence of his guilt. Then, world war breaks out and the computer begins to fail, trapping him without outside communication. Determined to escape he tries employing the very same mind interrogation method to outsmart the computer. Watch it here: Netflix, Prime
#19 – Cube – Six people are inexplicably imprisoned in a booby-trapped system of boxes, with no hope and fewer means of escape. A high-tech masochist’s “Lifeboat.” Watch it here: Youtube, Tubi
#18 – Platform – One day Goreng wakes up with his future colleague Trimagasi in the 33rd level of a prison style place, crossed by a hole where a platform descends with meal remains left from the tenants from higher levels. Trimagasi knows the rules that govern this mysterious place: two people per level and an unknown number of them. If you go upwards you survive…but think too much and you will descend again. If you are in the bottom where the food barely arrives, you cannot trust anyone except your guts. Watch it here: Netflix
#17 – The One I Love – On the brink of separation, Ethan (Duplass) and Sophie (Moss) escape to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an attempt to save their marriage. What begins as a romantic and fun retreat soon becomes surreal, when the couple discovers another copy of themselves at the retreat. Watch it here: Netflix
#16 – The Invitation – In this taut psychological thriller the tension is palpable when Will shows up to his ex-wife Eden and new husband, David’s dinner party. The pair’s tragic past haunts an equally spooky present: Amid Eden’s suspicious behavior and her mysterious house guests, Will becomes convinced that his invitation was extended with a hidden agenda. Watch it here: Netflix
#15 – Moon – An astronaut miner extracting the precious moon gas that promises to reverse the Earth’s energy crisis nears the end of his three-year contract, and makes an ominous discovery in this psychological sci-fi film starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. For three long years, Sam Bell has dutifully harvested Helium 3 for Lunar, a company that claims it holds the key to solving humankind’s energy crisis. As Sam’s contract comes to an end, the lonely astronaut looks forward to returning to his wife and daughter down on Earth, where he will retire early and attempt to make up for lost time. Watch it here: Crackle, Prime
#14 – White Chamber – The United Kingdom in the near future. Civil war rages, and martial law has been declared by a military government hellbent on squashing the opposition. A woman wakes up in a blindingly white cuboid cell, where General Zakarian uses increasingly sophisticated and cruel methods to torture her for information — information she claims not to have. As questions of trust are placed both on captor and captive, they find themselves embroiled in an increasingly spiraling journey into the nature of authority. Watch it here: Netflix
#13 – Uncanny – A reclusive inventor, his android creation, and a curious reporter are drawn together in a dark triangle in this psychological sci-fi drama. Watch it here: Netflix
#12 – Ex Machina – Caleb Smith, a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman. Their experiment is Ava, a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated–and more deceptive–than the two men could have imagined. Watch it here: Netflix
#11 – Unknown – When five men wake up in a locked warehouse with no memory of how they arrived there, the race is on to stay alive long enough to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. Watch it here: Prime
#10 – Green Room – GREEN ROOM tells a story of a diabolical club owner who squares off against an unsuspecting but resilient young punk band. Down on their luck punk rockers The Ain’t Rights are finishing up a long and unsuccessful tour, and are about to call it quits when they get an unexpected booking at an isolated, run-down club deep in the backwoods of Oregon. What seems merely to be a third-rate gig escalates into something much more sinister when they witness an act of violence backstage that they weren’t meant to see. Watch it here: Netflix
#9 – Faults – Claire is under the grip of a mysterious new cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire’s parents recruit one of the world’s foremost experts on mind control, Ansel Roth. Watch it here: Prime, Vudu
#8 – Pontypool – A psychological thriller in which a deadly virus infects a small Ontario town. And we watch as a radio station realizes what is going on in real time… watch it here: Netflix
#7 – 10×10 – Just a few days from opening her new business, Cathy’s (Kelly Reilly) fresh start is interrupted when she is attacked, kidnapped and locked in a room. She assumes the kidnapper wants her body or her life, but he is after something simpler…her name. watch it here: Prime, Vudu
#6 – Arq – A young couple protecting a revolutionary new energy source are caught in a time-loop, where they relive a violent home invasion on repeat, forcing them into a race against time to break the loop and escape with the technology intact. Watch it here: Netflix
#5 – Phone Booth – One man’s life is thrown into turmoil by picking up a telephone in this claustrophobic thriller. Stu Shepard is a brash, cynical, and self-centered public relations man who juggles a busy career with both a wife, Kelly, and a mistress, Pamela. Stu steps into a phone booth on a busy New York street to make a call to Pamela without Kelly being the wiser, but as soon as Stu hangs up, the phone begins to ring. Curious, Stu picks it up — and a stranger on the other end informs him that if he hangs up the phone, he’ll be shot. Watch it here: Prime, Fandango Now
#4 – Tape – Within the confines of a tawdry motor lodge in Lansing, Michigan, three old friends come together to play out the unresolved drama of their final days in high school. John, a first-time filmmaker, is in Michigan to present his film at a local film festival. Vince, now a volunteer firefighter and small-time drug dealer, comes to support John on his big day, or so it seems. But after their initial greetings, an undercurrent of tension remains. Gradually, it becomes clear that Vince still resents what he sees as John having stolen his girlfriend years before, and as the two men debate, a more serious accusation emerges. Watch it here: Prime, Apple TV
#3 – Exam – Shown into a windowless examination room, eight candidates have reached the final stage of selection for a prestigious job at a mysterious corporation. There is one question before them and one answer is required. If they try to speak to him or the armed guard by the door they will be disqualified. If they leave the room for any reason they will be disqualified. If they spoil their papers they will be disqualified. As the clock ticks down, they must figure out what the company expects of them, and how far they are prepared to go to secure the ultimate job. Watch it here: Youtube, iTunes
#2 – Locke – Ivan Locke (Hardy) has worked diligently to craft the life he has envisioned, dedicating himself to the job that he loves and the family he adores. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul. All taking place over the course of one absolutely riveting car ride, LOCKE is an exploration of how one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life. Watch it here: Netflix
#1 – Buried – A man is caught in a desperate race against time in this claustrophobic thriller from director Rodrigo Cortés. Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is an American truck driver who has been contracted to work in Iraq, and while delivering a load of kitchen equipment as part of a humanitarian aid program, he’s captured by insurgent guerrillas who intend to hold him hostage. Paul is struck unconscious, put into a coffin-like box, and buried, and when he comes to, all he has to help him get out is a lighter and a cell phone. Watch it here: Prime, Vudu
Edited by: CY
