Psychological horrors are not only meant to mess with the characters’ minds, but also make us think about what they’re experiencing. Japanese horror Exit 8 barely gets there in that regard. Based on the 2023 adventure game, The Exit 8, director Genki Kawamura, who co-wrote the script with Kentaro Hirase, puts an unnamed character — called only The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) — in a hellishly repeтιтive cycle.
While the lessons learned — about the embrace of change and the courage to stand up and speak without fear — are good, I’m afraid this horror film loses itself in the throes of its chaos due to a thin and plodding plot. Before The Lost Man goes on this journey — which begins on a subway and leads to being stuck in a few curving hallways that should, if he follows the instructions, lead to Exit 8 — we learn that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant. This drives his path forward, haunting him as he attempts to escape to freedom.
Exit 8’s Horror Is Good, But Its Story Doesn’t Have Much Depth
The film’s horror elements are effective, even occasionally unsettling. But there’s little attachment to the main character despite the harrowing experience he’s going through. Every cycle through the various exits tends to change, but not by all that much. The Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) sweeps past our protagonist; sometimes he just keeps it moving, and other times he’s right behind The Lost Man, smiling eerily. Meanwhile, The Lost Man hears the cries of a baby or gets a call from his ex (Nana Komatsu), but they’re not as effective as they could be emotionally.
Horror-wise, the film is a slow-burn. There’s enough tension that it feels like we’re always waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it and sometimes it doesn’t. The pacing is such that you never really know what will crop up, and it keeps us attentive, but it’s sluggish and repeтιтive enough for our investment to wane. The repeтιтion is especially daunting. Desert Road, a movie about a woman who discovers she’s stuck on one road and can’t escape it, shares similarities to Exit 8. However, the former was able to keep things fresh despite the same location and repeated moments.
…as a psychological horror, the film falls flat.
The narrative briefly cuts to a couple of other characters, perhaps intended to take a break from The Lost Man’s story, yet it doesn’t offer much in the way of engagement beyond being a nice break from the cycle of exit signs and hallways. The horror’s biggest issue is that its plot is barely there. It wants to explore themes of embracing change and responsibility, but we don’t know The Lost Man enough before he’s thrown into his distressing situation.
Instead of giving his story room to breathe, the film is less concerned about his plot than it is about crafting the visual aesthetic of the horror. I wish I could say this was a great psychological horror, but it lacks the depth that would have given it the proper momentum and gravitas. Without it, we’re just watching The Lost Man endlessly and frustratingly wander through hallways.
It grows tedious because it feels like we’re holding our breath waiting for something more significant to happen for the lead’s character development, and yet it remains largely stagnant. Exit 8 has so much squandered potential. It might have made for a better short film than a full feature, but as a psychological horror, the film falls flat.
Exit 8 screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
