Neon has announced the theatrical date for Genki Kawarmura's sophomore feature film and thriller, Exit 8, the live-action adaptation of the popular video game.
Neon will bring you along to look for Exit 8, in cinemas, on April 10th.
Neon announced today that it will be releasing its highly acclaimed Japanese thriller Exit 8 in theaters nationwide on April 10, 2026. Directed by celebrated up-and-coming filmmaker Genki Kawarmura, and based on the hugely popular video game of the same name, the film world-premiered in the midnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival where it received an 8 minute standing ovation. Subsequently it created much excitement when it screened at several top tier international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Sitges Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival. Right now, it is playing at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Exit 8 has received excellent reviews, currently ranking at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was a major hit in its native Japan, making approximately $27M USD upon its release last fall.Genki Kawamura has produced numerous films including Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name and Mirai, Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle and Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Monster. He won the Best Director Award for his directorial debut A Hundred Flowers (2022) at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival. He also wrote the 2012 worldwide bestseller If Cats Disappeared From The World which sold over 2 million copies in 32 countries. Exit 8 is the second film he’s directed.Based on the global hit eponymous video game created by Kotake Create, the movie follows a man (Kazunari Ninomiya) trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway as he sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?The film stars Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase and Nana Komatsu. It is written by Genki Kawarmura and Kentaro Hirase. The producers are Yuto Sakata, Kenji Yamada, Akita Yamamoto, and Taichi Ito.
The Japanese thriller premiered at Cannes, then went on to play here in Toronto at TIFF, then on to Sitges and Busan. It is playing this week at IFFR in Rotterdam.
Our own Martin caught Exit 8 when it played at Cannes last year. You will find his full review here, and in it he made this astute comparison.
Under Genki Kawamura's direction, Exit 8 readily draws comparisons with Vincenzo Natali's 1997 minimalist horror, Cube, in that one simple set is reconceptualized and redecorated over and over to provide the illusion of the characters' transportation and the story's progression. It's such a genius ploy for cash-strapped indie filmmaking that I'm surprised no one else has successfully replicated it in 28 years.Editor Sakura Seya pieces everything together to fashion an effective horror-thriller. Though it's purposely repetitive, there's nary a dull moment. Is the original videogame this much fun?