Tokyo Metro Inspires Horror Film Exit 8

ABC Arts

Topic: Horror Movies

Author Genki Nakamura feels uneasy in Tokyo's subway, which inspired his film Exit 8.

Tokyo Metro's passages are crowded with people ignoring each other.

The film Exit 8 is set in these areas between locations.

Nakamura says the film explores feeling disconnected from reality.

Kazunari Ninomiya plays a man trying to escape supernatural hallways in Exit 8.

Nakamura says people often ignore problems in their daily lives.

They see violence and war but pretend not to notice.

Many people are on their phones, thinking only of themselves.

The film's theme is about urban dwellers' guilt.

Nakamura wanted to make a film about the root of this guilt.

The film's main character is trapped in a never-ending metro corridor.

He is told to find Exit 8 and watch for strange things.

The film's signs are like those in the Tokyo Metro but with strange instructions.

The film is based on a video game where players investigate a hallway.

The game became popular online with live-streamers and their audiences.

Nakamura played the game and watched how others played it.

A good game is fun to play and watch, says Nakamura.

The game has simple rules but different stories for each player.

Nakamura wanted to make a film that was a new version of the game's world.

The film's hallways are like those in Hitchcock and Kubrick's films.

The film was shot over a month with two identical hallways.

The cast walked along one hallway, then rode a bike to the other.

The crew got lost in the hallways.

They named the hallways Hitchcock and Kubrick to keep track.

The film's set designers matched the game's photorealistic graphics.

Adapting a game to a film is a challenging task.

Nakamura was scared to adapt the game for the film.

The staff were anxious about how to make the film.