Why Exit 8, the Live-Action Horror Movie Adaptation of the Hit Indie Game, Has Sparked a Backlash in Japan Over Its Tsunami Scene

Exit 8, a live-action fearfulness movie adaptation of the anomaly-spotting indie crippled of the aforesaid name, opened astatine movie theaters successful Japan connected August 29. Despite enjoying a profitable opening weekend, the Japanese movie has attracted immoderate contention successful its location state implicit a country that depicts a tsunami, arsenic good arsenic the accumulation company’s hold successful issuing an authoritative informing astir this perchance upsetting content.

Originally released connected Steam successful November 2023, The Exit 8 is simply a first-person puzzle crippled acceptable successful looping passageways of a Japanese subway station. Starting by the motion for Exit 0, players indispensable scope the titular Exit 8 by looking retired for anomalies - if they spot thing unusual they indispensable crook back. If everything seems normal, they indispensable support walking consecutive ahead. Make the close choice, and the fig connected the exit motion goes up by one. Make the incorrect choice, and you spell each the mode backmost to zero. With its creepy ambiance and occasional jump-scares, the crippled rapidly changeable up successful income and gained wide popularity with streamers. It has since been ported to aggregate platforms and adjacent has a VR version.

The movie Exit 8 uses the iconic elements of the crippled to contiguous a intelligence horror. Kazunari Ninomiya plays the main character, an asthmatic unnamed antheral stuck successful the regular grind of commuting to enactment connected the subway who is struggling to travel to presumption with becoming a father. Like successful the game, Ninomiya’s quality gets trapped successful the looping subway passages and indispensable successfully spot anomalies to scope Exit 8. The movie besides touches connected themes similar bystander apathy, dissociation from reality, and however smartphones tin marque america suffer way of our surroundings.

The movie has an uneasy ambiance and is astir exclusively acceptable wrong the claustrophobic bounds of the subway station. The subway passages evoke the game, close down to the wandering salaryman NPC, posters, and the overly shiny white, tiled walls. Some of the anomalies are akin to those successful the game, portion others are unsocial to the movie (one of which volition apt beryllium appreciated by Parasite Eve fans).

On September 1, the movie’s authoritative X relationship posted a contented informing to imaginable viewers astir “certain scenes that whitethorn evoke traumatic memories of earthy disasters, similar tsunamis." This station led to an outpouring of varied responses. Although immoderate users thanked the accumulation institution for the heads-up, others criticized the timing of the warning, which came 3 days aft the movie deed theaters. “Shouldn't this person been issued connected opening day?” and “I wouldn’t person gone to spot it had I known,” are among the captious idiosyncratic comments reported connected by Japanese quality outlets similar Yahoo! Japan/J-CAST.

Meanwhile, immoderate commenters who hadn’t seen the movie yet mused astir whether the depiction could truly beryllium traumatic capable to warrant specified a warning, considering the “mild” rising h2o that appears successful the game, positive the film’s G standing (suitable for all) from Japanese movie classification committee Eirin.

Exit 8 hits North American theaters aboriginal 2026. Image credit: Neon.

The Exit 8 crippled does diagnostic an anomaly wherever a reddish tide of humor follows the subordinate (in a imaginable homage to The Shining). However, connected X, movie viewers rushed to guarantee radical that the film’s country is precise antithetic and overmuch much realistic. “I deliberation radical who are acquainted with the The Exit 8 crippled are much apt to fto their defender down,” said 1 user, adding that the movie’s scenes are "about 500 times much 'real-life tsunami' than the game's." Others urged those with acquisition of disasters similar the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (which killed astir 20,000 people) to refrain from seeing the film. With the movie getting a “suitable for all” rating, immoderate users wondered if Eirin had done its occupation properly.

Having seen the Exit 8 movie, I tin corroborate that the tsunami country is much realistic and prolonged than the game’s. The torrent of h2o that floods the subway corridors is not blood-red but brownish with mud, and rapidly submerges a young boy. There are first-person shots from the viewpoint of the main character, conveying his panic arsenic helium struggles to get to the aboveground of the beardown waters. There is besides an aggravated country successful which the main quality tries to prevention the lad by getting him connected apical of the ceiling’s exit sign, followed by a prolonged changeable of the lad curled up fetus-like and surrounded by debris.

The Exit 8 movie has been heavy advertised successful its location country, and had the highest-grossing opening play for a unrecorded action-movie successful Japan truthful acold this twelvemonth (source: Anime News Network). The main histrion Kazunari Ninomiya has a beardown instrumentality pursuing dating backmost to erstwhile helium was a subordinate of the deed boyband Arashi. These factors mean that a larger audience, including those unfamiliar with The Exit 8’s root material, are apt to cheque retired the movie, and has amplified the disapproval surrounding the tsunami scene.

Exit 8 is presently showing astatine movie theaters successful Japan. It has already been screened astatine immoderate planetary movie festivals including Cannes, with further, staggered releases planned successful assorted countries. Neon acquired North American rights to Exit 8 successful August, and plans a theatrical merchandise successful aboriginal 2026.

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Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.