I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres including a modernized “Hamlet,” an old-fashioned “You, Me & Tuscany,” a reflective “Outcome,” a monstrous “The Yeti” and a hypnotic “Exit 8.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including an old-fashioned “You, Me & Tuscany,” a modernized “Hamlet,” a reflective “Outcome” and a hypnotic “Exit 8.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to lock the door. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about a modernized “Hamlet,” a reflective “Outcome” and a hypnotic “Exit 8.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: A study of anxiety and the endless loop of modern life, “Exit 8,” a new Japanese film now playing in theatres, takes inspiration from a videogame of the same name and adds existential horror into the mix.
CAST: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, Nana Komatsu. Directed by Genki Kawamura.
REVIEW: After discovering his girlfriend is pregnant, The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is plunged into a psychological hell of endless, looping subway corridors. The only way out is Exit 8, but to find it he must follow a very simple, but specific set of rules.
As he roams the halls, if he sees an anomaly, something out of place in the white tiled, sterile corridors, like a doorknob appearing on the wrong place or a small boy, a.k.a. The Lost Boy (Naru Asanuma), he must turn back. Make a mistake, miss something, and he’ll have to restart the journey at Exit 0. If there’s no anomaly, he can move forward.
The Kafka-esque nightmare of paranoia and frustration, turns the story’s monotonous repetition into urgent horror. What begins as a simple concept of a Möbius strip style purgatory becomes a study of disassociation, the anxiety of modern life, responsibility and redemption. The monster here is emotional, a manifestation of The Lost Man’s psyche, not an unnatural creature. He’s grappling with scary ideas of fatherhood, accountability and commitment.
Director Genki Kawamura keeps the visuals minimalist, playing against preconceived notions of dark and dank horror with stark, brightly lit tiled corridors that shine a light on the growing dismay and frustration. The asceticism allows the audience to keep an eye open for anomalies, but more importantly, keeps the focus on Ninomiya’s subtle performance. Timid and nervous, with a growing sense of fear, his everyman work grounds the surreal situation with a sense of humanity.
“Exit 8’s” repetition becomes unsettlingly disorienting without the use of jump scares or other horror tropes. Instead, it’s an immersive film that plays on repetition to hypnotic effect.
