10 Best Films Set In Just One Location
4. Saw
The film that spawned a lot of over-complicated and somewhat unnecessary sequels, Saw is probably one of the best uses of the one-setting narrative in the last few years.
As Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Adam are chained to the rotting pipes in an unknown bathroom, with a dead body in the middle holding a recorder and a gun. After retrieving the recorder (with a tremendous amount of difficulty), the two men discover tapes that they then play, both from The Jigsaw Killer, one tells Adam to escape the bathroom, the other tells the doctor that he has to kill Adam by 06:00am or his wife and child will die.
Saw is somewhat unique in its setting, given that the horror genre had not really explored the idea of a one setting narrative for the purposes of scares before, but Saw does so with real style and flair.
It's a shame that the sequels failed to capture the feelings of the first one, the feeling of time ticking away, the idea of mistrust between both Dr. Gordon and Adam and the sweat-inducing finale, because the first one absolutely nailed it.
It's not just one of the best one setting movies, it's one of the best horror movies.