‘Exit 8’ traps moviegoers in a video game’s puzzle — for good and ill

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When a game says “Game Over,” it doesn’t really feel final, because we usually want to play again right away. Adapting video games into movies struggles with this – they can’t offer the same interactive experience and rely on viewers already loving the story and characters. Perhaps that’s for the best, though.

Genki Kawamura’s Japanese film, “Exit 8,” is based on a popular puzzle game and aims to recreate the feeling of being in that game. It tries to balance the unsettling feeling of being trapped with a more thoughtful, calming mood. While it doesn’t always perfectly combine these elements – and isn’t particularly scary – the film is strangely captivating because it puts you directly into the main character’s experience.

Designed by Japanese artist Kotake Create, the game traps you in a repeating white subway corridor until you figure out how to escape. But before the escape, the story begins with a lengthy shot following an ordinary commuter (Kazunari Ninomiya) lost in his phone – a common way to cope with a boring commute. Pay attention to what he’s listening to, though: the music, Ravel’s building “Boléro,” hints at what’s to come.

As he climbed out of the subway, he answered a call from his ex-girlfriend, who told him she was pregnant. He’d clearly been putting things off, and now he was facing another difficult truth. But as he walked, he noticed something strange: the hallway seemed to loop endlessly, with the same posters – even a playful M.C. Escher print – and the same impassive businessman passing by. He realized he was trapped in a peculiar, personal reality, and he wouldn’t be able to escape until he could identify what was different each time he went through it.

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They call him the Lost Man in the movie, and I think it’s a clever way to make him feel like someone everyone can relate to – Ninomiya really plays that part well. The writer, Kawamura, along with Kentaro Hirase, also gives us little glimpses into the Lost Man’s life, showing us who he is before all this happened. Then there’s the Boy, played by Naru Asanuma, who’s so mysterious yet adorable, and it feels like he’s there to help the Lost Man understand what’s going on and how he feels about it all.

As a film buff, what really grabbed me was how the movie plays with your expectations at each stage, making you notice the changes – some are huge, others subtle. The pacing isn’t always perfect for building tension, but I get why the director, Kawamura, kept that slow, exploratory feel of the original game. The way the camera follows and circles the characters, like it’s happening in real-time, really adds to the atmosphere. It feels essential to the whole experience.

While strategic editing can be effective, excessive cuts can slow the film down and feel disjointed, leaving the audience ahead of the story. The movie’s horror elements work best when they create a sense of unease rather than relying on jump scares. It’s also challenging to build tension in brightly lit, straightforward settings, particularly when the story needs to keep progressing.

The film “Exit 8” is interesting because it tries to be both a depressing and progressive work of art. When it successfully blends these two ideas, it feels like a clever observation about the often-meaningless routines of everyday life. And, thankfully, when the movie ends, it truly feels finished – there are no lingering questions or unresolved plotlines.

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2026-04-12 21:16