• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

One location thriller concepts

L

londonfilmmaker

My long term goal is to create a concept for a one location thriller, inspired by the likes of 'Buried', 'Saw', 'Cube' etc all genre classics. Anyone care to share any ideas for this kind of film? I've literally spent months thinking of a new direction for this genre and keep coming up against a brick wall so to speak - either the idea is too dull with no place to go with it without it turning in to 'Buried' or has been done before. A few ideas I have:

-A scuba diver becomes separated from the rest of his group underwater and trapped in a coral reef. With only the remaining oxygen in his tank the difference between life and death, he must find a way back to the surface before it's too late.

-Six strangers wake up inside a locked bank vault - some dressed as bank employees, the others as bank robbers. With no memory of the previous year and the police surrounding the bank, the six must learn to trust one another in order to find out the truth.

-A group of teenagers sneak in to a theme park during closing hours for a free ride and become trapped on the world's tallest rollercoaster mid-ride and upside down. (Could be shot 3D/4K)

-A prisoner wakes up in a prison's claustrophobic and miles long air extraction vents after falling unconscious during an escape attempt. Trying to find an exit becomes a second priority after he stumbles upon a wide reaching and dangerous conspiracy being hatched by the prison's evil governor.





Am I headed in the right direction? I don't really plan on developing the above any further as they're beyond any kind of budget I could come up with. I have lots of similar ideas and some I'm keeping a bit more guarded as I'd like to develop them.

Any ideas anyone would like to share?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
baoliun said:
What is your budget? 1 location films have various genres - reservoir dogs and saw are completely 2 diff concepts. So are you more into horror type of thing?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily restricted to horror, but the genre seems to fit that mould. I wouldn't consider Reservoir Dogs in this category (although it does take place in that warehouse for the majority).

As with any "amateur" and non-investor/studio backed idea, my budget will be very limited (sub £5k-£10k at a push) and that's with renting equipment.

I want to make sure my idea is fresh and new and once I've got the concept and written something I'll take it further. If that means I don't come out with something then I won't. I'm a big believer in using whatever budget you have on the smallest scale - if I had the money I'd rather spend £10k on a short with decent production values and actors than on a feature stretched over 90 minutes - 2 hours.

In the same view as this, although I want to make a feature I want to stick to one location (literally) so that a fairly reasonable set can be built.

I actually really liked the idea for 'Brake' (a secret service agent wakes up in the trunk of a car being held captive as it is driven around).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I really like the Bank Vault idea, you might have something there, but the script would have to be really, really good in order for it to work.

If you are looking for ideas and inspiration I suggest you watch the original Twilight Zone.
There are some excellent episodes there, most of which could be done on a low budget, and a lot of them take place in a limited number of locations.

In fact, one of their episodes "Five characters in search of an exit" resembles your idea.
The plot: "A uniformed Army major wakes up to find himself trapped inside in a large metal cylinder, where he meets a hobo, a ballet dancer, a bagpiper, and a clown who, ironically, seems to be the most reasoning of them all. None of them have any memory of who they are or how they became trapped. "
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Predators

The woods was the location with one set for a spaceship interior.

Hotels are often used for one location shoots in the horror genre.


Vampire Sisters is an indie horror movie that uses a house.

Tales From The Darkside did many episodes in one location and ran four seasons.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
one room or one location.

A good location might have many looks and stages for interesting things to happen.

Seems 5k ~ 10K puts you in a good situation to travel to the continent for some amazing old soviet era setting that could be had cheap! Old factory, hospital, military base, crazy house... slat mine.. missile bunker..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
EuropeanDistributor said:
I really like the Bank Vault idea, you might have something there, but the script would have to be really, really good in order for it to work.

If you are looking for ideas and inspiration I suggest you watch the original Twilight Zone.
There are some excellent episodes there, most of which could be done on a low budget, and a lot of them take place in a limited number of locations.

In fact, one of their episodes "Five characters in search of an exit" resembles your idea.
The plot: "A uniformed Army major wakes up to find himself trapped inside in a large metal cylinder, where he meets a hobo, a ballet dancer, a bagpiper, and a clown who, ironically, seems to be the most reasoning of them all. None of them have any memory of who they are or how they became trapped. "
Click to expand...

Thanks. My usual problem - I'm 'okay' with concepts, I struggle to flesh out characters and narratives and generally just have visualizations of shots and scenes rather than a complete project.

It's funny you mention "Five characters in search of an exit" - that was specifically mentioned by Vincenzo Natali (director of Cube - one of the films I mentioned as a genre classic) as the direct inspiration for his film.

I've read a lot of teleplays and summaries of Twilight Zone episodes - there are some nice ideas, and actually a lot of modern writer/directors aren't ashamed to almost "rip off" some of the shows.

Saw another great modern one location film last night called "Panic Button" - it's a British horror/thriller about 4 social network users who win a competition to fly to New York, however they become trapped on the plane by a booming voice which sets them tasks and digs up their internet historys as dirt. It was really fun and low budget and was a mix of "Catfish" and "Saw".

Definately love this genre!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
londonfilmmaker said:
My long term goal is to create a concept for a one location thriller, inspired by the likes of 'Buried', 'Saw', 'Cube' etc all genre classics... I've literally spent months thinking of a new direction for this genre and keep coming up against a brick wall so to speak - either the idea is too dull with no place to go with it without it turning in to 'Buried' or has been done before.

I don't really plan on developing the above any further as they're beyond any kind of budget I could come up with.
Click to expand...
Well... it has been done before. Lots. That's why "thriller" has it's own genré.
Having characters run about to assorted geographical locations is kinda what takes the edge off of characters futzing about a single location.
You can almost forget crafting anything "new" or "fresh."
However, crafting an INTERESTING thriller (or similar genre) in a single location is a respectable challenge.
And might I suggest something more than "Dudes escaping a effed-up situation.

Minimal location films that come to mind are:
  • Frozen
  • The Disappearance of Alice Creed
  • Chernobyl Diaries
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show
  • Silent House

Think not only about the variations of within the "thriller" genré but also of other genrés that could be set PRIMARILY within a single set/setting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genres#Thriller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genres

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Thriller
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I've tried coming up with a thriller that takes place in one room as well, but never could come up with a new direction. Perhaps you could just do a thriller with different locations? Ideas come first, then decide on locations that will work for that idea.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top