by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 1, The Film: 4/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 8/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, Nana Komatsu
Intro:
An eerie, introspective and gripping little yarn that manages to achieve a great deal despite its many practical limitations like limited locations and a tiny cast.
The Film:
Liminal horror is all the rage these days. Liminal, for those not in the know, refers to a transitional or boundary state between two points. We’re talking hallways, alleyways and corridors, etc., spaces that are not the destination but need to be traversed to reach it. Backrooms did a fantastic job of defining the genre this year and made bucketloads of dosh, well deservedly, but there was a little doer that came out a bit earlier called Exit 8 and while it did quite well both critically and commercially, it seems to have been lost in the conversation.
Set in Japan, Exit 8 follows a disconnected young bloke known only as The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) as he heads into work, taking the train with the other worker drones. Crammed cheek-to-jowl with hundreds of identical looking corporate slaves, The Lost Man witnesses a douchey dickhead abusing the mother of a crying baby. He knows he should say something, but he keeps his head down and prepares for another beige day. Soon afterwards, he gets a call from his ex, The Woman (Nana Komatsu), telling him that she’s pregnant* and wants to know what she should do. Before he can commit one way or another, The Lost Man finds himself in some kind of weird spatial anomaly. It’s a repeating loop, an eternally recurring tiled corridor that will only let him progress if he manages to find anomalies during each stroll through this bizarre space. If he gets it wrong? His progress resets and he has to start all over again, at the cost of his shoe leather and fraying sanity.
Based on a cult video game, Exit 8 is one of the better adaptations in recent years, all the more impressive considering that the source material is essentially a “spot-the-difference” title. Making that work as a tense and surreal feature length movie would seem quite the challenge but it’s one co-writer/director Genki Kawamura manages with great alacrity. The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting. The morning commute on Japanese public transport feels about as liminal as a thing can be and even before events take a turn for the paranormal, the atmosphere is suffused with an odd, melancholic dread. It also helps that Kazunari Ninomiya is a terrific lead, at turns sympathetic, disaffected and a bit hopeless. He does a great job of being the kind of everyman protagonist that you hope makes it through but are uncertain if he’ll be able. Obviously, the script, by necessity, changes a few times in clever ways (which we won’t spoil) but the main bulk of the action is with The Lost Man, including a deftly handled extended first person perspective section that provides a great opener.
That said, this is not a jump scare-filled, big spooky horror movie. This is more an existential paranormal thriller, with sizable, effective sequences in the backend (albeit slightly let down by wonky CGI), but probably not enough jolts or startling moments to keep those with a shorter attention span mesmerised. This is slow, contemplative, repetitive (by design) and beautifully observed stuff. It’s not as immediately accessible as Backrooms, but rewards patience and an audience’s ability to go with the flow. Hell, you’ll soon find yourself staring deeply into the screen searching for anomalies along with The Lost Man, which is always the sign of an engaging flick. It also has a beautifully observed ending that manages to feel emotionally resonant and satisfying.
Tense, thoughtful, engaging and surreal, Exit 8 is a very strong liminal horror flick about a man who turns down the wrong corridor and must fight for his life to get back.
The Extras:
There’s a decent if not expansive list of extra features available on the disc. There’s Cannes Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival footage, which includes interviews with the principal actors, some audience Q&As and red carpet gear for those who are into that sort of thing.
Best of the bunch, however, is the Behind-the-Scenes featurette which is a feature length deep dive into the conception, writing and production of the film. It’s a wonderfully slick and well put together piece, with thoughtful interviews, illuminating BTS footage and provides a real insight into how much thought and care went into this meticulously crafted work.
It would have been nice to have an audio commentary as well, mind you, but the whole thing comes bundled in a gorgeous looking rigid case, with a 48-page-booklet full of BTS material and essays, 8 art cards and a reversible poster.
The Verdict:
Exit 8 is the very definition of liminal horror. An eerie, introspective and gripping little yarn that manages to achieve a great deal despite its many practical limitations like limited locations and a tiny cast.
Bundled in a very attractive rigid case with impressive extras, this is the best way to enjoy a film that deserves to have a few more eyes on it. Perhaps don’t watch it on a Sunday before you have to go back to the office, though. And keep an eye out for anomalies.
*Apparently the “Weird Films About Dudes Dealing with Unexpected Pregnancies” list now includes Eraserhead, Resident Evil and Exit 8.
