This past Monday, I had the chance to attend an early U.S. screening of Exit 8, a 2025 film adaptation of the hit 2023 game of the same (well, similar¹) name. At just an hour and 35 minutes, Genki Kawamura’s sophomore directorial work is a short but ambitious commentary on the cyclical, repetitive, relentless loop that is our lives. True to its themes, it’s also meandering, somewhat infuriating, and at times a bit of a snooze.

It’s quite the paradox to have a film feel both bloated and underfed, yet Exit 8 somehow manages the feat. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy my time, though. Quite to the contrary — I’m glad I went and would recommend others check it out, too. But my appreciation for Exit 8 has far less to do with its characters or its jump scares, and far more to do with just how admirably it enhances an already great video game.

Escape Through Exit 8

For those unfamiliar, The Exit 8 (2023) is a puzzle game disguised as a liminal horror game. As a nameless protagonist, you wander a seemingly endless corridor, seeing the same posters, lighting, doors, and fire alarm in an infinite, Groundhog Day-esque loop. Your surroundings are static, save for a lone, voiceless NPC who walks the same hallway, always in the same way: slowly, in a straight line, with briefcase in right hand and smartphone in left.

After a few treks through what feels like the seventh circle of hell, you notice two signs. The first, a tall, yellow sign titled “Exit 0,” urges you to press on. The second, a smaller, more inconspicuous sign, shares four simple directions:

Don’t overlook any anomalies.
If you find anomalies, turn back immediately.
If you don’t find anomalies, do not turn back.
To go out from Exit 8.

Immediately, the gears start to turn. Another glance at the mysterious corridor yields critical clues. In one instance, a door no longer exists; in another, the lights on the ceiling are rearranged. The more trips you take around the looping corridor, the more you piece together. Suddenly, you notice the “Exit 0” sign has progressed to “Exit 1,” then “Exit 2.” Suddenly, it drops back to “Exit 0,” and you realize you fucked up.

So goes the loop. So goes The Exit 8. That is, until — roughly an hour later, give or take 20 minutes based on skill level — you finally spot enough anomalies (or normal scenes) in succession to make it out of the subway and presumably back to your banal life.

It’s a quirky game that occasionally frustrates but mostly enthralls. In the lead-up to the movie, I spent a Saturday morning playing through it once, then again to see every anomaly the game had to offer. Saying much else about the “tells” of Exit 8 would be to give away most of the fun. Just know that it’s a terrific concept and that, at just $4 or $5 (depending on the storefront²), it’s an easy recommendation for anyone hungry for an innovative, if short, experience.

Beyond the Illusion

Exit 8 the movie shares much of the same DNA as its source material. Its premise is identical, the hallway in which 95% of the film takes place is a near 1:1 recreation of the game, and the anomalies themselves are just as faithful. Most importantly, the NPC salaryman is here, and he absolutely steals the show.

The film also attempts to differentiate itself from the game — namely in giving its protagonist a backstory, motivations, and even a pre-existing condition that adds to the tension in its opening act. Unfortunately, these enhancements mostly fell flat for me. The protagonist, portrayed admirably by Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima), grated on me with silly decisions (and indecisions). His character arc is profound, but the actual writing and scenarios that surround it have been done to death.

But the story of Exit 8 is far less about what is said out loud. The real story is everything else: The sound design, which stirs with each new turn of the corridor. Kawamura’s gorgeous camera work, which begins in first-person like the game but evolves into an intimate third-person perspective evocative of one-shots like 1917 or Netflix’s Adolescence. The so-called “Walking Man,” whose deadpan expression only underscores a mid-movie twist that I wouldn’t dare spoil here.

As a film, it’s a beautiful directorial work, albeit one that lacks the gravitas of a more seasoned screenplay. As an adaptation of a video game, however, it’s a near-perfect interpolation — one that takes the feeling of playing The Exit 8 and accurately recreates that tension from the comfort of the theater.

Final Thoughts

I can’t in good faith recommend Exit 8 if you have zero ties to the source material. But if you have a few bucks to spare and are able to connect with the game beforehand, even if just for an hour, then this movie suddenly becomes a lot more meaningful. The corridor you once wandered yourself is now some other player’s nightmare to experience. And, just like any good NPC, you’re there to stand witness.

Score: 6.5/10

Exit 8, directed by Genki Kawamura, debuted at Cannes on May 19, 2025, before releasing in Japan on August 29, 2025. The film hits North American theaters this Friday, April 10, 2026, courtesy of NEON Rated.

Its source material, The Exit 8, is available now on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and iOS/Android. MSRP: $3.99 on all platforms except Switch 2, for which it’s $4.99.

The video game is The Exit 8; the movie is simply Exit 8. Maybe Justin Timberlake helped consult on it. ↩︎
The Exit 8 costs $3.99 on all major platforms… except for the Nintendo Switch 2. That version costs $4.99. Why? I really can’t say. While it’s just an extra buck, that’s also a 20% markup. Something tells me Nintendo’s Switch tax is somehow to blame. ↩︎