Exit 8
Based on the hit video game of the same name, this Japanese thriller, about a man trying to find his way out of a subway tunnel, lands an immediate spot in the pantheon of unforgettable mindfuck movies.
Please note the film does not have English dialogue or subtitles!
You walk through a subway tunnel toward the exit. The passageway seems endless. At some point you begin to worry: didn’t you already pass this spot? And doesn’t that guy look just like the one you saw a moment ago?
Then you notice the sign. “Pay attention to anomalies. If you see an anomaly, turn back immediately. Otherwise continue straight ahead. Leave through Exit 8.” The instructions do seem to help, but missing an anomaly throws you back to the starting point.
You proceed with mounting dread. The surroundings change in both subtle and shocking ways. Some of the anomalies seem to be related to your own life. What exactly is going on here?
Exit 8, based on the hit video game of the same name, lands an immediate spot in the pantheon of unforgettable mindfuck movies. It fosters a paranoid viewing style: was that poster there before, is there something weird about that passerby? The camera glides Shining-style through the liminal space; deranged visions puncture the repetition-based visuals.
The film confidently covers the ground between dark comedy and horror. It also gathers surprising psychological depth as the fluorescent-lit limbo forces the main character to face himself in order to move forward.
Jussi Tarvainen
Trailer
