20 Awesome Recent Horror Movies You Definitely Missed

18. Exit 8

Who among us expected an adaptation of 2023's hit indie horror game The Exit 8 to swiftly become one of the best-reviewed video game movies of all time?

The speed with which the adaptation was produced certainly suggested it might be cranked out for a fast buck, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Filmmaker Genki Kawamura faced the considerable challenge of taking the mere hour-long game - in which players traipse through a Japanese metro station seeking out "anomalies" - into a feature-length cinematic experience.

But Exit 8 is basically the platonic ideal of a video game movie - it stays true to the style and tone fans expect, but makes some vital conceptual changes to make the setup work in a new medium.

And it does all this while doubling down on character development in a genuinely meaningful way.

Though Exit 8 was a box office success, this was mostly from its native Japan, and the film simply isn't talked about nearly enough in the West.