Re: "The Exit 8" movie

On Fri, 9 May 2025 20:00:08 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 17:48 this Thursday (GMT):

>
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
>
"Exit 8", if you don't remember, was an Indie game that released
several years ago. It was extremely short (and has since been emulated
by other games), with a simple mechanic of going into a hallway and if
you see any anomalies, backing out (if no anomalies, continue forward
to the next hallway). Repeat 8 times and you make it to the exit.
While this description sounds tedious and uninteresting, the
atmosphere of the game (think spooky back-rooms) and the inventiveness
of some of the anomalies made it an enjoyable experience. My biggest
problem with the game was its price; it was $5USD for a game that
could literally be finished in ten minutes (and you could see
everything the game had to offer in about 30 minutes intensive play).
>
Still, the concept was neat and the surreal setting was great. It's
not entirely clear, though, how the film producers will extend such a
short game into a full length movie (I've read that some of the
'anomalies' the protagonist encounters will be people who mislead him,
and he doesn't know about the supernatural aspect of the corridors
from the start. Still, it all seems fairly thin). Nonetheless, I'm
interested to see how they manage.
>
The film is being produced by Toho Pictures (probably better known for
its Godzilla flicks) and will only have limited released in Japan (no
surprise, as its a Japanese game set in a Japanese metro). Hopefully
it will be made available with translated subtitles for us stupid
gaijin. I'll be sure to pick it up if that's the case.

>
>
Sounds interesting, but I don't have much hope it will be very good.

I always have a hard time judging if a Japanese film is 'good' or not,
because there is such a wide cultural divide between myself and Japan.
A lot of the way the characters act in Japanese films (so much
shouting in unison!) just seems off to my gaijin ears. It's a
completely different set of acting tropes that doesn't match up with
Western theaters, and as such I can't decide if my dissastisfaction
with the way the characters are portrayed in Japanese films is because
it's BAD or just because I am from a different culture. (I suspect the
latter).

So instead I have to judge the film by its ideas and visuals. And
while Japanese media usually can't match Hollywood in its scope and
grandeur, many of their films are still quite visually impressive,
with a better artistry to them that takes into account the limitations
of their budget. And -again, possibly because of my unfamiliarity with
the culture- many of the ideas behind the films feel new and fresh.

AS such, while "The Exit 8" may not be the greatest when it comes to
character interactions, but I suspect in visuals and concept it will
be quite satisfying.