Directed by: Genki Kawamura
Written by: Genki Kawamura and Kentaro Hirase
Run Time: 1 hour 35 mins
Considering the box office successes of films like Uncharted (2022), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and Five Nights At Freddy’s (2023), along with the popularity of TV series like The Last Of Us, video game adaptations are proving increasingly lucrative. Drawing in such a huge market filled with passionate fanbases, there’s massive potential for filmmakers and producers if they can get their adaptation just right. Now, even smaller game adaptations, like Exit 8 – based on Kotake Create’s The Exit 8 – are getting a chance to shine on the big screen too.
The game’s ominous atmosphere and psychological terror helped it to develop a modest cult following on release, and in the process attracted the attention of director Genki Kawamura. His adaptation tells the story of The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya), an unnamed protagonist, who while travelling on the Japanese metro, receives a phone call from his ex-partner with the news that she is pregnant. While exiting the train, he finds himself stuck in an endless corridor with a strict set of rules. While travelling the same path, he must look out for any anomalies in his surroundings, if there are none he can keep going, but if he spots any he must turn back. If he makes a mistake, the corridor resets back to ‘exit 0’, with his aim being to reach ‘exit 8’.
It’s a very simple premise, but that can be advantageous for a film or video game of this genre. With the main character traversing the same corridor over and over again, it’s quite an appealing concept from a filmmaker’s perspective, both from a budgetary standpoint and in the way it encourages creativity so as not to make the film overly repetitive. And Kawamura and his co-writer Kentaro Hirase ensure they do everything they can to live up to the source material’s potential, crafting a wide range of scares and set pieces that make almost every walk through of the corridor feel unique. A lot of the scares rely on the ‘uncanny valley’ of mundane things being slightly different, so when both the Lost Man and the audience eventually notice them, they’re effective and very unnerving. Kawamura knows when to play the scares subtle and when to be more abrasive, becoming the main reason why Exit 8 is such a blast to watch.
Building on this enthralling action, the mystery of what the Lost Man is meant to do to escape this endless maze is maintained for just the right amount of time, with exposition woven naturally through his developing knowledge. Once the rules are established, no time is wasted on going over them repeatedly. Even if there are moments where certain sequences are lingered on a little too long, but Keisuke Imamura’s inventive cinematography keeps things engaging with his slow pans and close ups aptly creating tension. Perhaps most impressive, is the film’s opening shot: a five minute one-take from the point of view of the Lost Man. It’s a great way to evoke the video game’s first person perspective and to assure fans that this adaptation is in good hands, as well as putting less familiar audiences in the protagonist’s headspace.
That being said, as an audience surrogate, there’s the risk of not being able to connect to the main character. Typically, films of this kind can be too simplistic and not venture beyond their B-movie thrills, but what makes Exit 8 so special is the subtext that’s present in the story too. The Lost Man is conflicted in what he should do upon receiving the news that he is to become a father, and he’s confronted with that responsibility head on when he encounters a young boy (Nanu Asanuma) also stuck in the endless corridor. Their developing father/son-type bond and subsequent teamwork gives the film a lot of its heart, leaving more of a lasting impression than might be expected from a film like this.
So with the added emotional core making the film feel complete, Exit 8 approaches the peak of potential for video game adaptations, keeping things faithful to its source material while luring in newcomers with its creative filmmaking. It’s simple and to the point, not overstaying its welcome but still injecting enough substance into its story to justify its feature length. With a distinctive premise and its unnerving scares, it’s a genre standout in a year of horror that has already seen so many highlights. It might even make you think twice before stepping onto the London Underground again.
Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
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