I watched my 50th movie of the year this week. Genki Kawamura’s Exit 8.

I went into the film not knowing anything about it other than it’s based on a video game (and I didn’t even know that before I arrived at the cinema and a friend told me). That’s not unusual for me, I prefer watching films without knowing too much about them and I have a whole rant on how often trailers ruin films that I’ll save for another day.

Which is why I’m not going to talk about the plot here.

My scale for movie ratings goes Really Didn’t Like It, Didn’t Like It, Okay, Worth Watching, Enjoyed It, Really Enjoyed It, Would Definitely Consider Watching it Again and Have Actuallly Watched it More Than Once.

Exit 8 falls into the Worth Watching category. For reference The Thing is a Have Actually Watched it More Than Once and Omen IV: The Awakening earned a Really Didn’t Like It.

Not that I’d class Exit 8 as much of a horror film. It’s more of a creepy, weird, mystery, with just a splash of horror imagery. It’s horror movie length, though, clocking in at a svelte 95 minutes. And it doesn’t need longer than that.

I’ve never played the Exit 8 video game (I’ll be grabbing it today to try out) but it’s very easy to see how the concept fits a game perfectly and from the screenshots, it’s clear that the film is a pretty direct translation.

And it works. The basic idea is intriguing and although I can’t say I was really scared, there is some genuine creepiness. It does suffer from a few “what the hell are you doing, just walk away!” moments and if you’re like me and get motion sick with “shakey-cam” footage then the first few minutes might make you uncomfortable, but it settles down pretty quickly.

Does it need to be seen on the big screen? Well, I always prefer watching films at the cinema and there’s some good sound design but it’s not really a big blockbuster movie that demands IMAX and four hundred channel surround sound.

Either way, if you like films like Cube or are interested in seeing something a little less mainstream than most horror films, check out Exit 8.

[Exit 8 by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 30th April 2026]