Exit 8 is an inventive and repetitive exercise in expanding what was once a simple video game into a character-driven psychological horror. Based on the 2023 adventure game The Exit 8 by developer Kotake Create, director Genki Kawamura transforms what is essentially a glorified spot-the-difference simulator into an anxiety-fuelled time loop exploring isolation, emotional paralysis, and the fear of fatherhood. Though the film’s unwinding narrative structure wanes more than it enthrals, it remains grounded by Kazunari Ninomiya’s engrossing lead performance and Ryo Sugimoto’s clinical, labyrinthine production design.
An unnamed Tokyo commuter (Ninomiya)—titled onscreen as The Lost Man— is on his way to work, listening to Ravel’s Boléro: the composition’s recurring motifs cleverly foreshadow the film’s central conceit. Nearby, a woman and her crying baby have a tense encounter with a stranger, an incident the protagonist chooses not to intervene to stop the stranger berating the young mother. Moments later, he answers a call from his ex-girlfriend and learns he’s potentially going to be a father. Barely able to process the news, he steps off the train and wanders into a nondescript subway corridor, seeking the eponymous Exit 8. To evoke the atmosphere of the original game, cinematographer Keisuke Imamura frames the entire prologue in first person, immersing the viewer directly into the protagonist’s disorientation.
As the Lost Man makes his way through the sterile passage, he finds himself trapped in a loop, endlessly walking the same corridor. There, he comes across a sign outlining the rules of his now unwilling quest: if he spots an anomaly, he must turn back immediately; if he passes each test, he will reach the exit. Ahead of him lie gleaming, white-tiled walls, a few doors and vents, a solitary businessman walking on the right side (Yamato Kochi), some advertisements plastered along the walls, and a large yellow sign pointing the way to Exit 8.
In the video game, the anomalies the player must detect are far subtler than those the protagonist quickly spots in this adaptation. Whether it’s blood dripping from the ceiling, flooded hallways (in a nice nod to The Shining), screaming babies locked in storage lockers, or the lean businessman turning with an unsettling smile, the horror is effective but brief. The repetition begins to wear thin as the Lost Man continually returns to Exit 0, slowly clawing his way forward—often exhausting the viewer as much as himself. Things briefly become more compelling when a small child appears in the hallway, but the film’s Möbius strip-like structure proves difficult to sustain, even across its relatively short 95-minute runtime.
The performances by Kazunari Ninomiya and Yamato Kochi, as the Lost Man and the Walking Man respectively, are absorbing and nuanced, capturing the despair and confusion of their situation with both panic and pathos. A mid-film interlude shifts perspective to the Walking Man, whose life reflects the unresolved choices lingering in the Lost Man’s psyche. Keisuke Imamura’s cinematography intensifies the film’s psychological tension through persistent tracking shots, amplifying the anxiety as the characters are forced to move in endless physical—and mental—circles. With production design as clean and ominous as Squid Game, the meticulous blocking of the repeated location further heightens the unease; the subway feels as much like a puzzle as it does purgatory.
Exit 8's central conceit wears thin early in the runtime, but it still succeeds in evolving the premise from the—albeit basic—video game. An amalgamation of Eraserhead and Groundhog Day: it unfolds as a claustrophobic, occasionally thrilling chamber piece about guilt, fear, and the anxiety of the unknown. While it could have pushed its horrific elements further, it remains simple, eerie, and emotionally resonant in a few fleeting moments. From the simplicity of a walking simulator emerges a psychological tale of regret, absolution, and minimalist suspense.
Director: Genki Kawamura
Cast: Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kazunari Ninomiya
Writers: Kentaro Hirase, Genki Kawamura (Based on the video game The Exit 8)
Producers: Taichi Itô, Kenji Yamada, Taichi Ueda, Minami Ichikawa, Yoshihiro Furusawa, Genki Kawamura
Cinematographer: Keisuke Imamura
Composers: Shouhei Amimori, Yasutaka Nakata
Editor: Sakura Seya
Exit 8 screens at MIFF from Sunday 20 August to Friday 22 August. Visit MIFF.com.au for tickets.