Exit 8 is a horror thriller movie directed by Genki Kawamura that keeps you tensed up from the beginning to the end. The story is about a man who is trapped in a sterile subway passageway that keeps repeating endlessly. Every time he tries to escape, he discovers that something is wrong and the rules of the space shift in strange ways.

What makes this movie special is its atmosphere. The subway passage that looks completely ordinary at first, slowly becomes a source of great fear as the odd events continue to take place. I found myself feeling the same fear and confusion that the main character experiences, which shows how effective the film’s pacing was . The brilliant sound design, lighting, sound, and the subtle clues put the audience in the world where nothing is as it seems.

As the story unfolds, the film introduces solid performances from Kazunari Nonomiya, Yamoto Kochi, Naru Asanuma, and Kotone Hanase. The main character, the lost man whose name is never mentioned in the movie, displays a mix of panic and determination that expresses the troubling and frightening moments that he goes through to find his way out to Exit 8. The plot may appear to be common, a man trapped in a maze, escaping again and again, but it stands out from other similar plots by reshaping the familiar space through strange rules. The themes also connect to real life, such as feeling stuck in your life trying to find a way out, and dealing with pressure, ideas that I personally found meaningful.

At some point, the audience might feel an endlessly repeating loop and lack of full explanation frustrating; I’ll admit that I left the theater with unanswered questions. If you prefer clearly explained endings, “Exit 8” might leave you puzzled. But if you enjoy suspense, psychological tension, and stories that make you think, it is definitely a great choice. Personally, I really enjoyed the film and was surprised by how long its unsettling atmosphere and ideas stayed with me afterward.