In Exit 8, a meek and scared young man with asthma finds himself trapped in a liminal looping hallway that never ends. He’ll have to follow the rules and pay attention for any anomalies if he’s going to find a way out and back to his pregnant ex girlfriend. He’s not sure if he’s ready to be a father, but he’ll have plenty of time for contemplation while trapped in the hallway from Hell.
Thin on plot, but with plenty of good messages about people trapped in their own personal loops, sleepwalking through life, and the importance of waking up, deciding to take action, and finding ways to break yourself out of your own loop. Our lead gets a pretty decent arc and is competently portrayed by Kazunari Ninomiya. His little companion who pops up around half-way through the film, played by Naru Asanuma, is quite good as well. Both are likable and easy to root for.
The cinematography by Keisuke Imamura and editing by Sakura Seya don’t break any new grounds but are very competent, cool, and impressive. The production design by Kenta Tsutsumi is sparse but effective, perfectly replicating the look of the game. Genki Kawamura directs and co-writes the screenplay with Kentaro Hirase. The direction is confident and handled well.
The screenplay is fine, never really standing out or impressing. It gets the job done. Yamato Kochi as Walking Man and Kotone Hanase as High School Girl make for unsettling and effective supporting roles. The film isn’t really scary, but is consistently tense and freaky throughout.
Exit 8 faithfully adapts not just the look, but also the experience of playing the video game it’s based on. It’s a simple but effective flick. Exit 8 doesn’t overstay its welcome and adds just enough filmic spice (character development, character arcs, messages) to make this one liminal space worth getting trapped in. It’s certainly one of the better and more impressive PG-13 horror films out there.
3.5 STARS
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