Inventive, eerie, and just a little long in the tooth, the surreal Japanese thriller Exit 8 goes around in circles, but with a purpose.
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An unlucky commuter (Kazunari Ninomiya) who’s just received startling news from his ex-girlfriend finds himself stuck in a series of endless, repeating corridors not long after stepping off the subway. Outside of an odd looking businessman (Yamato Kôchi) and a quiet child (Kotone Hanase), he’s there alone, trying to figure out how to break the cycle and escape the tunnel.
Based on a psychological horror video game, Exit 8 has its fair share of unnerving moments, like one of those “spot the differences” games, but with jump scares. Thing seem monotonous at times, but director and co-writer Genki Kawamura has a lot of fun with giving the viewer and the characters a false sense of security.
The subtext largely revolves around learning how to be a father, but it’s like a sprinkling of salt on a movie that has a single driving force: repetitiveness. A viewer’s feelings on Exit 8 will come down to how much they’re willing to put up with a concept that keeps hitting the reset button, and is quite literally like watching someone playing a game. Once the viewer knows the rules, there’s a bit of an interactive element to the film, almost as if Kawamura wants you to shout the answer at the screen.
There’s some annoyance in how slow some of the characters are to react to impending dangers, but there’s also some satisfaction to be found in being one step ahead of the action. I had a bit of fun hanging out at Exit 8, but I’m sure there are some out there who would want to get out as quickly as possible.
