Exit 8 (2025)

Based on a videogame that I was unfamiliar with (not to worry though, the ever-watching internet ensured that my algorithm has since delivered me a number of videos showing me people trying to speed-run the game), Exit 8 is another film that has been given some decent amount of praise from horror movie fans. I was very keen to see it, but sadly couldn't get along to a screening while it was in cinemas.

Sometimes things work out for a reason. Exit 8 is good, but it's a bit too slight. While I enjoyed most of it while it was on, I doubt I'll rush to rewatch it. And I'm not sure it will be remembered by many a couple of years from now, despite how odd and relatively unique it is.

Kazunari Ninomiya is the main character, a man who gets lost when he steps off his train and wanders around a subway station that he soon discovers is a physics-defying test of observation skills. The man finds some instructions, details of how he can find his way to the titular exit, and then has to spend his time wandering through very similar, sometimes identical, corridors looking for anomalies. Those anomalies may be details in the posters on the walls, they may be some of the other people who pass by (a walking man is seen many times, played by Yamato Kochi, and there's also a young boy, played by Naru Asanuma, and a schoolgirl, played by Korone Hanase), or they may be some misaligned tiles. They could be anywhere, making it a great challenge to keep making progress towards Exit 8. 

Co-written by Kentaro Hirase and director Genki Kawamura, Exit 8 is all about the concept. It tries to convey the feeling of disorientation and creeping dread as main characters struggle to extricate themselves from the situation, but the fact that so many scenes take place in an environment with bright lighting and plentiful white tiles stops it from being as creepy and tense as it could be. The game may be a more immersive and engrossing experience, and Kawamura tries to drag viewers right into the premise here by making use of some POV camerawork throughout the earliest scenes, but a film needs to work harder to unsettle and scare those watching it.

Ninomiya does a good job in the main role. He's good at reacting to the strangeness of the situation, and is allowed to make comments to help explain things without having to keep up any kind of running commentary. Kochi is arguably the most memorable of the characters onscreen, and he's easily as good as Ninomiya. Asanuma and Hanase play characters fated to be a bit more passive, for the most part, but both benefit from being able to present themselves as familiar archetypes.

Despite enjoying this, I struggle to see who it would work for. Fans of the game will probably always prefer to play the game, those unfamiliar with the source material won't appreciate the details recreated for the film, and horror fans after some straightforward thrills and chills will probably be disappointed by how tame the whole thing is. I must be missing some of the appeal though, because so many other people have already enjoyed this one, and they've been enthusiastically recommending it to others. I won't be matching their enthusiasm, but I'd still encourage people to check this one out. There are moments to enjoy. I just can't think of anyone who will love it.

6/10

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