20 Awesome Recent Horror Movies You Definitely Missed

18. Exit 8

Exit 8
Toho

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.

 
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.