Claustrophiliac movies

NOTE: Let it be known that I am not completely sure that Claustrophilia is a word, although it certainly should be, but it is intended as the opposite of Claustrophobia- fear of enclosed spaces.

Sometimes, just to be clever, a filmmaker will create a film with a neat little visual gimmick to draw in the curious. Sometimes it's a "one-take" movie, sometimes its black and white for no apparent reason, sometimes its dodgy handheld camerawork a la Cloverfield, sometimes its 3D (see my thoughts on 3D here). One old trick is making a movie set entirely in one room, one house, or one boat, as the case may be. Yeah, it does scream, "Hey look at me I can make a film out of ANYTHING", but it can make for very interesting viewing, as tension and interest has to be maintained through careful cinematography.

Here's a few flicks for all you claustrophiliacs out there.


Lifeboat (1944)
The brilliant Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his lesser known works, places survivors of a torpedoed ship on a lifeboat- which they must share with a man who helped sink their ship. Awkward.


Rear Window (1954)
Hitchcock's at it again, this time in an apartment with James Stewart and the lovely Grace Kelly. Wheelchair-bound Stewart reckons there's been a murder across the courtyard, but no one believes him. Paranoid, thrilling, voyeuristic fun.


12 Angry Men (1957)
A courtroom drama set almost exclusively in the jury room. 11 of the 12 jurors are convinced the defendant is guilty, but Juror No. 8 is determined to change their minds in the next hour and a half.


Sleuth (1972)
Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine engage in a deadly duel of wits as the former invites the latter (his wife's lover) to his abode. A film driven by its two lead performers.


Cube (1997)
6 strangers find themselves trapped in a giant cube and must use each of their strengths to find their way out. With the tagline: The Walls Are Closing In, this is surely one claustrophiliacs should relish and all others will be thoroughly disturbed by.


Panic Room (2002)
Jodie Foster and daughter Kristen Stewart find themselves confined to the panic room of their new house as a couple of crims are attempting to raid its contents. It's Twilight meets Freaky Friday! OK, not really.


8 Women (8 Femmes)(2002)
A French murder mystery/musical(?!) about 8 women trapped in a house during a snow storm. The sole man of the house is murdered and weirdness ensues. As the characters' relationships get more and more twisted up, you'll feel trapped, too.


Paranormal Activity (2009)
Katie's convinced she's being followed by a demon, so her man Micah sets up a camera in their bedroom that documents the paranormal occurrences that follow. A Blair Witch-esque horror/thriller made on the cheap in the director's own home.


For more claustrophiliac fun, check out the trailer for Buried in the post below, and tell me about your favourite claustro-fest film with a comment!