Writers: Hirase Kentaro and Genki Kawamura
Director: Genki Kawamura
Exit 8 was once a video game, and now it is a horror film with a sentimental narrative. The unnamed protagonist, simply called The Lost Man, must discover a way out of a Tokyo underground station. For those London commuters who get lost changing at Bank Station, this film may be familiar.
He needs to get out of the station – well, to be precise, a single corridor in the station – to meet his ex-girlfriend at the hospital where she is contemplating an abortion. He needs Exit 8, but every time he follows the signs, he’s brought back to the same corridor, now displaying the signs for Exit 0. However, his adventures down the corridor give him plenty of time to decide whether he wants to be a father or not.
A handy information board tells him the rules of the game. He should only turn the final corner of the passageway if the corridor is exactly the same as the corridor he encounters at Exit 0. If there is any change to the advertisements or the locked doors or the vending machine, he should turn back. Each successful journey will mean that he moves up a level; a mistake means that he is returned to Exit 0.
Of course, in the video game, the player has to search for the anomalies, but in the film, we can only passively watch as the Lost Man makes mistakes. This removes the fun and the frustration that playing the game brings. To turn the game into a film, characters such as The Walking Man are given slight backstories, and The Lost Man is eventually given a young companion, who he must look after.
The main corridor is an uncanny replica of the one in the original KOTAKE CREATE game, although director Genki Kawamura adds the vending machine and a photo booth. He also adds more horror, but it’s not quite enough to keep you up all night. Kazunari Ninomiya is compelling as the asthmatic Lost Man who must learn how to be a father.
Exit 8 will definitely lure more people to the game, even if it is a little underwhelming to watch as a film. However, it’s a darn sight better than other game adaptations such as Resident Evil and Tomb Raider.
Exit 8 is screening at the BFI London Film Festival 2025 from 8 – 19 October.
