Bottle episodes are episodes of televisionoften done on a budget, and therefore of reduced scope, and often with a limited number of cast members. They were more common back when TV shows had 20+ episode seasons, and did 20+ episodes a year, but there have been some in more recent times. Perhaps the most famous/infamous recent one isBreaking Bad’s “Fly,” from the show’s third season, andSeinfeld’s “The Chinese Restaurant” is a great one that’s a little older.
Applying the idea of a bottle episode to cinema,a bottle movie can be, more or less, a bottle episode premise stretched to feature-length. Like, you could call12 Angry Menthe cinematic equivalent of a bottle episode, since it takes place almost entirely in a jury room, and features the same characters throughout (though a dozen is a pretty high number cast-wise, compared to most bottle episodes/movies). And when films in the horror genre take this sort of approach, you get “bottle” horror movies, or whatever else you want to call them. See below for some of the best and most notable.
10’The Autopsy of Jane Doe' (2016)
Functioning asa supernatural horror moviethat’s about as grisly as you’d expect, with the title it has,The Autopsy of Jane Doeis mostly about two coroners – a father and son – carrying out, you know, an autopsy. They’re in the one location pretty much the whole time, and find supernatural occurrences start happening in more intense ways the further into the autopsy they get.
WhileThe Autopsy of Jane Doemight run out of steam ever so slightly by the time it starts wrapping up (or even a little before), an uneasy atmosphere pervades throughout much of it, andthere are some undeniably effective scares. It’s also not a “bottle movie” in the strictest sense, butthe fact that there aren’t too many characters beyond the main two, while the setting is confined/claustrophobic, means it still qualifies.
9’Don’t Breathe' (2016)
InDon’t Breathe, a handful of young people decide to break into a house and rob it, believing it’ll be a clean sort of undertaking on account of there only being one man who lives there, and said man also happens to be blind. But he’s more than capable of at first defending his property, and then going a little further (to put it mildly), turning the tables and making life hell for the would-be robbers.
And with a premise like that,Don’t Breatheunsurprisingly takes place inside a single house for the bulk of its runtime, and there are just four major characters throughout.It’s simple, but also pretty damn satisfying as a horror/thriller movie, and it might well also bethe best filmFede Álvarezhas directedto date.
8’Buried' (2010)
There’s a scene inKill Bill: Vol. 2where the Bride is infamously placed in a coffin and buried underground, thereby having to figure out a way to escape from such a nightmarish situation. And then six years on from that movie, there wasBuried, which is a bit like thatcoffin sequence fromKill Bill: Vol. 2, except it is stretched to a feature-length runtime.
It’s justRyan Reynoldsstressed out in a coffin, and the only other actors in the movie are merely heard, withBuriedbeing mortifyingly committed to keeping the camera underground with its sole on-screen actor.And you feel the claustrophobia 100% of the time, making the entire thing immensely unsettling. It’s probably more of a psychological thriller/survival movie, but it’s also horrifying enough to count as something of a horror movie (and some sites/resources do list one of its genres as “horror,” so it’s being counted here).
7’Bodies Bodies Bodies' (2022)
If you go intoBodies Bodies Bodieswanting a straightforward horror movie, you might be disappointed, seeing as this functions better as a satire/comedy than a pure horror movie. Itputs a spin on the slasher sub-genre while also making comedic observationsabout wealthy young people who are, to put it a little crudely, of the social media generation. Whatever the hell that means.
Anyway, they’re in a lavish house for most of the movie, and chaotic comedy – with a little by way of suspense and horror – ensues when a game about a killer on the loose ends up feeling slightly too real for comfort.Bodies Bodies Bodiesis a bit one-note, but it keeps hitting that note really effectively, and enough to stay entertaining throughout.Again, it’s more of a comedythan a horror movie, but in a way that ends up working.
6’Cube' (1997)
Cubeis mostintriguing as a mystery/sci-fi/thriller movie, and in turn, perhaps the scares aren’t quite as strong, but it’s creepy enough to also be a horror film. There’s a core group of characters, all individuals who find themselves trapped in a series of surprisingly deadly mazes and high-stakes puzzle rooms, if one could call them that. And so they have to survive and, if lucky, maybe find out the truth behind their strange kind of imprisonment.
It’s a bit of a funny bottle movie, because there are technically a few rooms the characters travel through, butCubewas made like a bottle episode or bottle movie, in the sense that the sets are simple and were able to be tweaked/redesigned to give the impression of a large structure. So, maybe it rides the line between bottle and non-bottle movie, but there is still thatelement of the characters being trapped throughout, and the production values are bottle-y for sure.
5’Saw' (2004)
Released afew years afterCubewhile scratching a similar itch,Sawis, in some ways, more of a bottle movie thanCube, but also less in other ways. When it comes to the two people being held captive inSaw, they are indeed more confined than those inCube, since they’re stuck in the one tiny room throughout, but then there are also characters who are part of the narrative outside the room, as well as some flashbacks involving the characters who are stuck.
So,Sawis another one of those bottle-y movies that’s not a full-on bottle movie, but the core of it does involve two peoplestuck in a room, being psychologically tormented, and having to find some way to possibly escape. And there’s more to it than that, but it’s got those bottle movie qualities, and it’s the bottle-y stuff here that’s the most compelling and memorable, in the end.
4'10 Cloverfield Lane' (2016)
Speaking of movies that are at their best when they stick to bottle movie conventions, here’s10 Cloverfield Lane, which mostly takes place inside a bunker, and with just three main characters. There is a part of the movie that happens outside (keeping it vague, yes, even though the movie is nearly a decade old), and it’s that part of the movie that’s probably the weakest stretch.
But the important thing is that most of10 Cloverfield Lanesticks to those bottle episode/movie conventions, and it milks so much tension out of the confined setting and the strained dynamics between the three core characters.The less said about the narrative, the better, but it’s an entertaining and effectively suspenseful ride of a film, for the most part. And, alongsideThe Autopsy of Jane DoeandDon’t Breathe, it shows that 2016 was a pretty great year for claustrophobic horror/thriller movies.
Each one ofGeorge A. Romero’s first three zombie moviesis essential in its own right, and all three of them have elements of bottle movies/episodes, too.Night of the Living Deadmostly takes place inside an isolated cabin, whileDawn of the Deaddoes technically take place in one location, but it’s a huge shopping mall, so even with the characters being locked down, it doesn’t feel too claustrophobic.
That leavesDay of the Dead, which technically gives its characters a little more space than those inNight of the Living Dead, but they’re in an underground bunker, and so it often feels more confined. It’s a grimy, intense, andextremely violent film as well, and those qualities accentuate the pre-existing claustrophobia, making it, of these three zombie films, feel the most in line with other bottle movies.
2’The Lighthouse' (2019)
Since a good deal ofThe Lighthousetakes place outside, it feels a little removed from most other bottle movies. However, “outside,” in this instance, is on a remarkably tiny island that has a lighthouse on it and very little else; there’s no room. And though only two people live on this tiny island, it’s not nearly big enough for both of them.
SoThe Lighthouseends up being about the two men both being driven mad from the isolation, and each other. And it’s strangely entertaining at times, owing to the surprising amount of comedy found throughout, even if it’s principally a horror movie. It’s weird and quite wonderful, withWillem Dafoegiving perhapsone of his best-ever performances, andRobert Pattinsondelivering what would have to be his best performance to date, too.
1’Misery' (1990)
Misery, as a novel, was more confined than the movie adaptation, butthe 1990 film is still mostly confined to one house throughout. In both cases,Miseryis about an author who gets “rescued” by an adoring fan, who then reveals herself to be more than a little unstable, not to mention very disappointed by the fact that her favorite author has chosen to end her favorite series.
Most ofMiseryis about an author being held captive and forced to write something he’d emotionally moved on from, all the while trying to figure out if there’s any way to escape, or alert people to his predicament.And it’s all wonderfully intense and engaging stuff, with a very good book being adapted into a very good movie; you love to see it.
