10 Brilliant Movies With A Terrible Concept

5. Buried

ryan reynolds buried
Lionsgate

The Concept: Contained thrillers have been around for decades - some hits, some misses - but Buried appeared to be taking the sub-genre to a ridiculous level.

Pitched as a movie set entirely within a coffin buried deep underground, Buried's concept raised several big issues - how is it possible to shoot a movie from inside the same box without boring the viewer? How is it possible to stretch that core idea out for a full 90 minutes?

Add to that the fact that star Ryan Reynolds was known for his comedy and not his deeply emotional drama, and Buried seemed like it would be dead on arrival.

The Movie: Though director Rodrigo Cortés had very few options available to him, Buried might be one of the most creatively-shot movies you'll ever see.

The director winds his way around Reynolds and the coffin, shooting it from top-down, side-on, and every other way imaginable. He pulls back for wide shots, gets right in on his actor's face for close-ups, and even manages to fit in a small-scale chase sequence involving a snake.

The craftsmanship on display here is undeniably impressive, and it's matched by a powerhouse performance from Reynolds, who convincingly acts every emotion you could possibly think of - joy, grief, frustration, a glimmer of hope - and holds your attention throughout.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!