Mixed tape movies - Singular Location

In the eighties it was the-thing-to-do to make a mixed tape (like an mp3 but touchable, always in need of a pencil and definitely cooler). On it you would make a little playlist of all the cool songs. Now the trick was to make each song correspond with the rest of the tape. In this post I will try to do the same with movies.

Every once in a while I will select a general topic and select movies to accompany it. As you can see the more child-friendly movies are at the start of the day, but  when night falls: ‘here be monsters’. Please feel free to give suggestions of other unknown movies.

One rule though: Auteur themes like ‘Shakespeare’ or ‘James Bond’ are not allowed. ‘Spy-movies’, naturally, are.

Theme: Single room movies.

I like claustrophobic stories. I like stories to take place in a single location. In short: I like stories that could have taken place on a stage. So let me give you my mixed tape of single room movies:

08:00-10:00

Noises off: A great show to start the day with. The theme is ‘single room’ and the overhanging notion is theater. Kids might not really like this movie but for adults it is hilarious to see this troop of actors fighting amongst themselves and bringing about one of the worst stage performances ever.

10:00-12:00

Rope: Kids should be in school for this one. Two students decide to murder their (former) classmate just to see if they could get away with it. Based on the Leopold and Loeb murders they place the body in a bookchest and have a party around it. Such a gruesome tale with, no other than, -an experimenting- Hitchcock at the wheel is certain dynamite.

12:00-14:00

Sleuth: Also based on a stage play; a husband and his-wife's lover meet. They strike a deal which ends in mischief and murder. I prefer the original with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. But Kenneth Brannagh’s remake has certain charms as well. 

14:00-16:00

Deathtrap: Again Michael Caine. This time he’s a failing mystery play writer who came up with the perfect plan to secure his future. Alas, as these stories go, he failed to realize certain elemental things. A brilliant movie that, I believe, is lacking in audience (even the London play is still dragging behind the [overtly famous] the mousetrap).

16:00-18:00

Compliance: I wrote a lengthy review about this movie (here). But in short it is a fascinating tale about the lengths people will go to to please another person (and to achieve some sort of self-gratification).

18:00-20:00 

Phone booth: One of the better known ones. A guy stuck in a phone booth with villain pointing a rifle at his head. The concept is great. Colin Farrell gives an amazine one-man show. And, Joel Schumacher shows that -after his failed Batman adventure(s)- he's still a more than capable director.

20:00-22:00

Fermat’s room: A great Spanish thriller. Four mathematicians in a room solving puzzles to keep the room from shrinking towards their ultimate death. A smart little film that tries a little too hard to be a more than it should be. Nonetheless it is a great thriller.

22:00-00:00

Unknown: Several people find themselves locked in a warehouse with no memory. Apparently there was a kidnap/hostage situation going on. But, since nobody has any recollection, who is the culprit and who is the victim.This movie could have been executed better but nevertheless it is a great tale.

It is also –to my knowledge- the first movie that brought Jim Caviezel and Kevin Chapman together before they starred in Person of interest.

00:00-02:00

House of nine: A difficult movie to place. The story is bland. The acting is actually rather terrible at times (even if you can believe Dennis Hopper as a priest). But the end-twist to this movie is of such logical brilliance that you are willing to forgive all the mistakes made before.

02:00-04:00

Saw: When it comes to single-room thrillers this is the absolute number one. A movie with a (slightly illogical but cool nevertheless) twist that singlehandedly kicked off a franchise and various copycats.
It is a horror movie but don’t be scared about that. Parts one and two of the Saw-series are far less bloody than an average episode of Midsommer Murders.

Honorable mentions:

Exam: This is the way these ‘single room’-thrillers should be. Smart, intriguing and with a satisfying conclusion. I never really liked this movie but that could just be me.

Open grave: Not really a single room story but close. Like Unknown it deals with memory loss in a secluded location (so unlike the brilliant Memento). But what I liked about this movie is how these characters return to certain locations again and again. And in time these locations reveal their secrets.

Grand piano: I like the mind exercise behind it. How do you keep a person centre stage (literally) for the entire duration of a movie? But what the makers came up with is a bit too farfetched.

Lifeboat: I should have mentioned this. But since I already had one Hitchcock on the list I've decided to keep Lifeboat around for another time.