You want to know what turns me on? Films like this. I don’t mean in a sense of arousal, I mean more in a sense of what captures my attention and imagination. Exit 8 is an exercise in style, psychological horror, and frustration … but not necessarily in that order.
There are people who will watch this film and hate it, to be sure. Exit 8 isn’t for everyone. And yet, I get the same chills here as the original Blair Witch Project, except with less nausea and cleaner lines, cuz Japan doesn’t put up with all that rugged crap. At its heart the film is very simple: a young man can’t get out of the subway. Still, there’s such a keen attunement to the man’s will and emotional state, that Exit 8 cannot help but suck you in to his dilemma. This film has maybe three sets, and yet is as engrossing as any to come out in the last few years.
The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is barely and man … and he shouldn’t be lost. How lost can you get in the Tokyo subway, really? I mean, aren’t there maps every few feet? That’s how I imagine Japan. On the train, he’s listening to “Bolero” in a crowded car when a crying baby and a businessman get into a fight. Don’t ask. The Lost Man, a kid just out of college, gets off the train and answers his phone. His ex is pregnant. And she’s breaking up; he’ll forget his temp job today and join her at the hospital … if he can find her.
Outside the paid area, the crowd dissipates until Lost Man 
is the only one left. Down a corridor, he spots a sign for Exit 8 (we have a title!) straight ahead. He passes a Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) with a briefcase, then Lost man is alone again. A jog to the left a pivot to the right … and he’s in a very similar corridor to the one with the Exit 8 sign. Once again, he is passed by Walking Man. Déjà vu, huh? Is there a glitch in The Matrix? A jog to the left. A pivot to the right. *Same corridor* * Same Walking Man* The Lost Man isn’t making any progress. He’s stuck in a loop.
A billboard advertises the rules: If you spot an anomaly, turn back, otherwise proceed.
What the Hell does that mean? Initially, we have no idea, but Lost Man had better figure it out if he wants to escape the Tokyo subway.
Exit 8 is less a feature-length film and more a Rubik’s Cube in movie form. Do we need to know this manboy to understand his frustration? Not at all. But we will learn a few key things about him. Exit 8 is in the Groundhog Day family of films where sights and situations repeat over and over with little change, but somehow this to me felt less fantastical and more tangible. I’ve never relived a day over no matter similar some feel, but I’ve through subway tunnels in many cities, and I swear some are paths to Hell itself. For inner-city, public-transportation-enabled urbanites, this might just be your favorite horror film ever … or it may just a hit a little too close to home.
In the subway, a young man got lost
His frustration did darn near exhaust
The lesson, it seemed
Not as easy as dreamed:
Human sanity comes at a cost
Rated PG-13, 95 Minutes
Director: Genki Kawamura
Writer: Kotake Create, Kentaro Hirase, Genki Kawamura
Genre: Mindfuck
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Me
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Claustrophobes
