Film Review: ‘Exit 8’ is a Faithful and Largely Successful Adaptation of What Seemed Like an Unadaptable Video Game

Despite being reasonably knowledgable about video games, I’ll admit that The Exit 8 had snuck below my radar. A so-called “walking simulator” of sorts, it’s a genre of game I don’t always vibe with, but on occasion can become engrossed within. Firewatch, for example, I fell in love with. I say this bring up how I went into Exit 8, the adaptation of the game, without any clear expectations, beyond wondering how the spartan premise could be faithfully executed. Well, for (mostly) better and (occasionally) worse, this film has managed to do so. Just in terms of pulling it off, the movie has to be considered one of the more effective and successful video game adaptations we’ve seen to date.

Exit 8 takes the first person game and, while not expanding the world, finds the cinematic version of things. Once the premise settles in, it takes a bit to get on its wavelength, and on occasion, some restlessness sets in, but when this flick is firing on all cylinders, it’s hypnotic and unsettling, even if it does fall short of the greatness it manages to hint at. Still, if this seemed unfilmable, the filmmakers have found a way to prove that thought wrong.

We’re introduced to our protagonist, known only as Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya), as he’s riding the Tokyo subway. He witnesses a woman and her crying baby screamed at by a businessman, before leaving the train to take a call in the metro station from his pregnant partner. With a lot weighing on his mind, it takes a moment to realize that he’s not finding a way out. The hallways loop around and around, always putting him back at start. Then, he finds some instructions detailing how he must make it to exit 8 in order to leave, turning back whenever he finds an anomaly.

As he wanders and attempts to find shortcuts, he passes by Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) repeatedly, as well as comes into contact with The Boy (Naru Asanuma). With progress coming in fits and starts, as well as mistakes setting him back to the beginning, a sense of hopelessness sets in. Right as things threaten to become dull, we learn that Lost Man is not as alone as he thought, with Walking Man being something more than a video game NPC in this world.

Kazunari Ninomiya is essentially alone on the screen for large portions of this film, so it’s a credit to him that we never become tired of his confused face. Naru Asanuma and Yamato Kochi ultimately make the most of their short times in the spotlight, with Kochi especially getting to put off a creepy vibe while repeatedly passing by our hero, but Ninomiya is pretty much who we’re always with in these tunnels. The small supporting cast includes Nana Komatsu, among others, but Ninomiya is largely the sole focus.

Director/co-writer Genki Kawamura gets a lot of mileage out of the indie game, more than you would expect. Along with co-writer Kentaro Hirase, Kawamura opens things up, screenplay wise, to invest us a bit more in our hero. Visually, Kawamura is incredibly faithful, and while Exit 8 occasionally has some effects work that feels cheap, this is such an effectively realized experience, it’s hard to be too annoyed. Few video game adaptations can even dream of being this faithful and still managing to entertain.

Exit 8 is in the upper echelon of video game to film adaptations, offering up a real treat for fans of the game, while still hooking those unaware of its roots. The movie isn’t perfect and ultimately is a touch monotonous, though some of that is intentional. If you’re at all curious about what the flick is doing, embrace the mystery and give it a shot. In particular, the fact that this seemed unadaptable and yet is here is worthy of real celebration.

SCORE: ★★★