Big and small screen adaptations of video games have been improving over the years, we’re certainly a long way from Doom (2005). Exit 8 came out in 2023, it itself inspired by the Finnish game, I’m On Observation Duty, the game explored liminal spaces and the surreal atmosphere that these spaces offer, a perfect setting for a potentially unhinged game. Exit 8, the film directed by Genki Kawamura, explores this idea while using a very human character to bring us into this space.
A man (Kazunari Ninomiya), on his way to a temp job, becomes lost in an endless subway passage. In order to find his way to Exit 8, he must pass levels by finding anomalies. If he finds an anomaly, he must turn back, but if there isn’t one, he must continue forward. Fail to notice an anomaly or make a mistake and you have to start all over again.
Full review over at Filmhounds.