Exit 8: A scary game of spot the difference
Although it was a faithful adaptation mixed with a generic character-driven plot, I feel like this movie could have had a lot more to offer.
I went into this movie completely blind without knowing that this was actually a video game adaptation - I, for one, found this information to be hilariously ironic considering the fact that when I was no more than 30 minutes deep into the story, I said to myself, "Hm. This would make for a very fun video game." - That being said, I took it upon myself to check out actual gameplay of the Exit 8 video game in order to compare it with the film adaptation I had just watched - and in doing so, I realised a couple of things. One, that the movie overall was indeed a faithful adaptation - and two, although it was a faithful adaptation mixed with a generic character-driven plot - I feel like this movie could have had a lot more to offer.
The rules of the game are very simple: you're trapped in an endless loop within a subway station with only one way to escape - identify the anomaly and then proceed to walk in the opposite direction. You must do this correctly for a total of eight levels in order to be granted the freedom to leave through exit 8 - failing to do so even once will result in the tragedy of having to start all over again right back at level zero until you have successfully managed to identify all eight anomalies without failure - and that is it. The concept alone is intriguing as it is terrifying due to the fact that there is no real character study or clear narrative - just pure uncanny dread.
As you can already guess, it's because of that creepy and weird atmosphere which is what earned the game it's praise back in 2023 - and luckily for those that are fans of the game will be happy to see that the movie does in fact capture that exact same eerie feeling - thanks to the immersive nature of the camerawork shown throughout, resulted in a masterclass in building tension as we the audience holds our breath for every moment our protagonist turns the corner without knowing what will jump out at us. The tension was great; however, I truly felt that the anomalies were either hit or miss. Some would feel super ordinary and not very memorable, while there were others that truly got under your skin.
For those that don't know, Japanese cinema has had a HUGE influence when it comes to the horror genre, releasing movies such as Ringu (1998) which then led to the American remake The Ring (2002) as well as the release of the cult classic movie Audition (1999) which is praised for it's deeply disturbing nature - the point is that as far as Japanese horror movies go, they always tend to have this extra layer of creativity that goes into their stories as well as never holding back on their scares which keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. Sadly, I saw a significant lack of that with Exit 8 - overall, I enjoyed myself for the most part.
