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I first heard about Exit 8 last year, and I liked the look of it. It looked like a good horror/thriller, and I was up for it. Well, this weekend I got to see it and, overall, I liked it.
The movie is based on a 2023 video game, which I hadn’t heard of until the movie trailer. I’m not big on gaming or on horror games, which is weird, as you would think I would like them.
Anyway, let’s get into the review of Exit 8, which I will keep spoiler-free.
The movie stars Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kocki, Naru Asanuma, and Kotone Hanase, for the most part. Genki Kawamura directs and writes alongside Kentaro Hirase and Kotake Create, who designed the video game.
The Story
The story for Exit 8 is wonderfully simple:
A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realises he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out.
A lost man (Ninomiya) is on the train, heading to a new job. He gets a phone call from his girlfriend saying she’s pregnant. Not sure how to take the news, the lost man headed off the train and into the subway.
As he walks, other people thin out, until he’s in a lone corridor, full of the same turns and corners. After a while, he notices a sign for Exit 8, when he’s on level 0, and a list of instructions. I couldn’t find them anywhere, so they are from memory:
Do not overlook any anomalies.
If you find an anomaly, turn back immediately.
If you don’t see an anomaly, do not turn back.
Go out from Exit 8.
Once the last man realises this, he starts to take note of the little things, like posters on the wall, doors and vents. This way, if he sees something out of place, he can go back. This is all in the first 10 minutes or so, but that’s all I’m going to spoil.
The Lost Man
The first 5 – 10 minutes of the movie are all in the POV of the lost man, without any cuts, well, ones I could see. Then, the rest of the movie is on a set, again, I think. There seems to be four main corridors: the one with the walking man, one with a set of lockers on the walls, and then two blank ones. When he reaches the end, he knows if he’s gone up a level or back to level 0.
The feeling of claustrophobia in Exit 8 is very good; it’s not like being in a confined space, but just the repetitiveness of it. As soon as the lost man figures out what he has to do, you’re all of a sudden noticing everything with him.
The brilliance of this is that the set is so unbelievably boring. They are all the same, but if you’re paying attention, they aren’t. A poster might be wrong, the lighting is different, and the number 8 on the sign is upside down. If you don’t notice the anomaly, you’re going back to level 0.
At times, you are just as frustrated as the lost man. It’s just not fair!
The Direction
I’ve said it before, but I love a movie with a minimal cast, so this was perfect for me. There are only about 4 main players, three of which I haven’t touched on, but their stories unfold as you watch the movie.
The direction by Kawamura is, I’m going to use the word, outstanding. It was only thinking about it afterwards that some shots are maybe 20 minutes long. In that time, a lot happens, and you have to appreciate how he’s directed it.
It’s also the little things; on several occasions, he will use a character to stop you from seeing what’s going on. I felt myself trying to lean around to see. One shot, the lost man heads to the sign to see what level he is on. It’s beautifully directed, as you are dying to know how far he’s got. Has he progressed closer to 8 or gone back to the start?
As the reveal takes place, you either sigh in relief or are frustrated as he is. It was really well done.
I Have No Idea
Exit 8 reminds me of Vivarium, which I love and saw again recently. Two people are trapped in a house, and there doesn’t seem to be an exit. What I love about Vivarium is that, by the end of the movie, you have no idea what was going on. Was it some kind of alien fish tank for humans?
Ultimately, it didn’t matter what Vivarium was; what mattered was the struggle of the two main characters, and later, their ‘son’. Exit 8 is the same; there’s no explanation why the subway behaves as it does, it just does. The most important thing is to get through it, not figure out why it’s there.
What was great about this was the movie left me with questions, good questions, but questions. What happens to the Walking Man (Kochi)? I have my suspicions, but it might be a different conclusion for someone else. Give me a movie where I have to draw my own conclusions over another churned-out franchise any day.
Exit 8 makes you think and use your brain; it made a nice change.
Overall
Exit 8 was in Japanese, with subtitles, but this was great. How often during a movie do you pick up your phone and then miss something on screen? I know I’m guilty of it. In this movie, because I had to ‘watch’ it for the subtitles, it meant I had to pay attention. During the movie, this really pays off with some very rewarding moments.
It’s not a movie that patronises the audience but rewards you for watching it. I will need to watch it again, more than once, to really appreciate how subtle it was.
It’s not perfect; there are a couple of minor niggles, like the lost man seems to have asthma. Firstly, the actor didn’t do ‘asthmatic breathing’ very well. Secondly, he loses his inhaler halfway through, but seems to be OK after that.
I’m picky about a movie that is difficult to be picky about, as it’s so well made. There’s nothing overly complicated; the story is simple, the sets are simple, and you have to think about it.
Again, no spoilers, but the ending is one of those endings you can make your own mind up on. As I said, give me that any day.
I’m going to give Exit 8 a solid 5 stars. The direction is, as I said, outstanding, the story is gripping, and you are with the lost man the entire frustrating journey. It’s repetitive, in a good way, but rewards your efforts to watch it.
Exit 8 is still in cinemas, not sure when it will be on Vod or streaming.
I’m really looking forward to Backrooms, which I think is going to be in the same style as Exit 8. I’m hoping Backrooms is as well-made as this.
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