byChris Tilly
Vertigo Releasing
Exit 8 is based on a video game about a commuter stuck in an underground loop, and while the film adds intriguing plot to a slim premise, one can’t help but think it’s a concept that’s better played than watched.
Indie game ‘The Exit 8’ was billed as a walking simulator when it was released in 2023, but the Kotake Create title was much more than that, delivering a creeping sense of dread, while giving the player something of an existential crisis.
It saw your character walking through a Japanese metro station on a route that looped back on itself, and trying to spot “anomalies” to escape; a scary premise that proved to be both fiendish and addictive.
This movie adaptation follows much the same template, but adds narrative context to beef proceedings up, via the story of ‘The Lonely Man.’
What is Exit 8 about?
Vertigo Releasing
Exit 8 kicks off during rush hour on a busy Japanese train. A character whom we come to know at The Lonely Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is mindlessly scrolling through his phone while listening to Ravel’s ‘Bolero.’
He clocks a man shouting at a woman holding a screaming baby, but much like the other indifferent commuters, he does nothing. Instead, the Lonely Man disembarks so he can head to work.
As he makes his way through the maze of underground tunnels in the subway station, he receives a call from his ex who has big news. But she cuts out just as he finds himself walking a passageway that seems to be repeating.
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The Lonely Man passes the Exit 0 sign, the same posters, the same photo booth, and the same smiling businessman, as the corridor continues on its endless cycle.
He then tries turning back, but the passage somehow replicates, until Exit 0 mysteriously turns into Exit 1, suggesting some hope of freedom. Which is when he spies the rules.
Being a passive observer
Vertigo Releasing
The Lonely Man is stuck in an evil maze designed to torture and torment, so it comes as some relief when he spots handy instructions on a wall.
“Do not overlook any anomalies,” the sign advises. “If you find an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you do not find any anomalies, do not turn back. Go out from Exit 8.”
At which point the movie reveals itself to be a puzzle, testing both the protagonist’s – and by extension the audience’s – powers of observation.
Which means we can play along with the Lonely Man as he passes signs and posters and that creepy grinning dude. But as passive observer rather than active player, which frequently makes for a frustrating viewing experience.
Separating film from game
The first trailer for Exit 8, a film based on the video game, has been released
It follows a man trapped in an underground subway station as he searches for Exit 8 pic.twitter.com/FDlRmKuI11
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 5, 2026
That’s very much the game aspect of this adaptation. But director Genki Kawamura – working from a script he co-wrote with Kentaro Hirase – has given the said premise something approaching a plot.
We won’t spoil the details here, but they concern what happened at the start of the movie, meaning the overarching narrative nicely loops back on itself.
While the movie is also divided into chapters, the first concerning The Lonely Man, the second revolving around that office worker, aka The Walking Man, and the third involving a young boy who might hold the key to the central paradox.
But while those stories dovetail as The Lonely Man traverses his subterranean purgatory, too much is left unexplained or ambiguous, meaning they never quite coalesce.
Influence of The Shining and more
Vertigo Releasing
Exit 8 is a movie that wears its influence on its sleeve, most notably The Shining, and those endless scenes where Danny cycles around the Overlook Hotel on that impossible route. But there’s also a clear and visually impressive nod to the elevator scene in Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece.
Utilising a video game tradition, the opening scene plays out like a first-person shooter, with early events viewed through the Lonely Man’s eyes. Which is a smart way of putting us in his shoes before the rest of the tale is told in more conventional fashion.
The surreal work of artist M.C. Escher has also clearly had an impact on the filmmakers, so-much-so that his Möbius Strip II even appears on the subway wall, with those famous ‘Red Ants’ on their endless treadmill mirroring the Lonely Man’s waking nightmare.
The concept of “liminal spaces” play their part, and it’s unsettling spending a sizeable chunk of the runtime surrounded by sterile white tiles, underneath bright fluorescent lights.
But while Exit 8 is an alarming idea filled with disturbing imagery – from monstrous rats and babies trapped in lockers, to blood pouring from the ceiling – it’s never downright scary, which feels like a missed opportunity.
Is Exit 8 good?
Vertigo Releasing
Exit 8 is a decent movie that had little chance of being great. There’s no doubting Kawamura and Hirase’s bravery in taking such a slight idea and turning it into a 95-minute movie, but if feels like a fool’s errand.
Exit 8 is visually striking, especially if you’ve never clapped eyes on the source material. It’s also gamely performed, with Ninomiya a likeable lead who’ll have you rooting for him until the final denouement.
The added story allows the film to examine some very human emotions and themes, from guilt, insecurity, and indecisiveness, to bravery, responsibility, and finding one’s purpose in life.
But they are tackled superficially, and those dots never quite connect, leaving the audience with the rather less exciting reality of a horror movie about noticing stuff.
So while Exit 8 is a solid feature with lofty ambitions that it never quite achieves, the source material also feels like it might have been better served as a short.
Exit 8 score: 3/5
Exit 8 is in US screens on April 9, 2026, while it hits US screens on April 24, 2026.
Dexerto|VERDICT
Review of Exit 8
OK
Exit 8 is based on a video game about a man stuck on an underground loop, and while the film adds intriguing plot to a slim premise, one can't help but think that this is a concept that's better played than watched.
3Review Scoring
Chris Tilly
