Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
So this movie is now available to rent on streaming services, and
--upon learning that-- I just had to give it a try. After all, the
game itself is something you can finish in five minutes; most
play-throughs will take about 15 minutes, and if you make an effort to
see everything maybe you can stretch it out to an hour. But the movie
itself? It's 90 minutes. I just had to see how they managed that.
"Exit 8" was the first (or at least, one of the earliest) of the
'anomaly games' genre. It's gameplay was simple: walk down a hallway.
Then move forward and walk down an identical hallway. If it truly is identical to the first, move ahead. If not (if there is an 'anomaly'),
turn around. Repeat this process correctly eight times and you get to
the eponymous exit.
Building on the 'limninal spaces' meme (and some occasionally spooky anomalies), the game created a low-key sense of paranoia. Partly from
the spooks, but mostly from the worry that you missed something; was
that red spot always on the wall? Were those posters in that order?
And how many light fixtures were there on the ceiling anyway? And it
was surprisingly fun. Not deep, no, and more of a game-concept than a full-fledged game, but I enjoyed it.
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film
based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought
that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot
on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
The movie itself? Well, it's okay for what it is. The producers do
their best to maintain that same feeling of low-key paranoia
throughout the movie. Being already familiar with how the game works,
I'm not so sure how well they translated the situations to anyone
coming into the film fresh. Then again, I'm not sure many people who
haven't played the game would be seeing the movie anyway.
Still, like the game, the movie itself is fairly thin. There's only a
handful of characters, and only really two of note. These get a bit
more backstory than in the game (which isn't saying much, since in the
game there is no characterization at all), and mild theme of family
and responsibility, but the core of the movie still revolves around
walking down the same hallway over and over again, and getting freaked
out.
Yet oddly, it works. Yes, some of that characterization felt a bit
forced, and I think the bit at the start where the protagonist is
freaking out as he realizes the nature of the curse went a bit
over-long (then again, that bit was probably added for people
unfamiliar with the game) but overall I thought the movie was fun.
Especially given how limited the source material was, I think the
producers did a pretty good job, staying both true to the game and
adding just enough to keep things interesting. Is it a GREAT movie?
No, but I didn't mind spending 90 minutes with the character, and it
was just oddball enough (helped by it being a Japanese movie) that I
was glad to have seen it.
Plus, the use of Bolero as the soundtrack was just sublime; a perfect
match for the repetitive nature of the trap.
So if you want to see an unusual, not-too-scary Japanese horror film?
This one is worth a watch. Don't go into it with the highest
expectations, of course, and I'm not sure it's really even worth the
current rental price... but if it shows up on your streaming service
as a freebie and you've nothing better to watch? Give it a try.
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film
based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought
that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot
on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
On 7/22/2026 2:00 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls HurgensonI don't know how well it did in Japan but its total North America box
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film
based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought
that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot
on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
office was $3,700,321 in a little under 500 theatres. Given that _at
best_ Toho would have received half of that....
On Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:49:18 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/22/2026 2:00 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls HurgensonI don't know how well it did in Japan but its total North America box
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film
based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought
that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot
on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
office was $3,700,321 in a little under 500 theatres. Given that _at
best_ Toho would have received half of that....
Then again, considering the film had a budget of only $1.4 million,
that's not a bad return, considering it had a very limited release in
the US and was a foreign film (with subtitles and everything!) to
boot. Apparently it raked in over $40 million worldwide.*
That unnamed Toho exec is safe in his job, I'm sure ;-)
On Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:49:18 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/22/2026 2:00 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls HurgensonI don't know how well it did in Japan but its total North America box
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film
based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought
that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot
on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
office was $3,700,321 in a little under 500 theatres. Given that _at
best_ Toho would have received half of that....
Then again, considering the film had a budget of only $1.4 million,
that's not a bad return, considering it had a very limited release in
the US and was a foreign film (with subtitles and everything!) to
boot. Apparently it raked in over $40 million worldwide.*
That unnamed Toho exec is safe in his job, I'm sure ;-)
On 7/24/2026 8:12 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:49:18 -0700, Dimensional TravelerAh, I wasn't aware it was done on the broken remains of a shoestring
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/22/2026 2:00 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls HurgensonI don't know how well it did in Japan but its total North America box
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film
based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought
that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot
on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
office was $3,700,321 in a little under 500 theatres. Given that _at
best_ Toho would have received half of that....
Then again, considering the film had a budget of only $1.4 million,
that's not a bad return, considering it had a very limited release in
the US and was a foreign film (with subtitles and everything!) to
boot. Apparently it raked in over $40 million worldwide.*
That unnamed Toho exec is safe in his job, I'm sure ;-)
budget. Any idea what its advertising budget was? It is almost routine
in a studio project that promotion expenses usually equal production costs.
On Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:51:21 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/24/2026 8:12 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:49:18 -0700, Dimensional TravelerAh, I wasn't aware it was done on the broken remains of a shoestring
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/22/2026 2:00 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 08 May 2025 13:48:27 -0400, Spalls HurgensonI don't know how well it did in Japan but its total North America box
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> said this thing:
{Abra-cadabra necro-posta; ancient threads arise!}
Hey, neat! They're making a movie based on "Exit 8".
And based on the fact that it spawned an entire genre, AND got a film >>>>> based on it, so did enough other people that somebody at Toho thought >>>>> that a movie would be profitable. And while I don't know if it made
its money back, it was fairly well-received, debuting at the #2 slot >>>>> on the weekend of its release, and nearly as high in surrounding
regions. So I'm guessing that unknown executive at Toho hasn't lost
his job.
office was $3,700,321 in a little under 500 theatres. Given that _at
best_ Toho would have received half of that....
Then again, considering the film had a budget of only $1.4 million,
that's not a bad return, considering it had a very limited release in
the US and was a foreign film (with subtitles and everything!) to
boot. Apparently it raked in over $40 million worldwide.*
That unnamed Toho exec is safe in his job, I'm sure ;-)
budget. Any idea what its advertising budget was? It is almost routine
in a studio project that promotion expenses usually equal production costs.
Not off the top of my head. But, yeah, it's usually a good rule of
thumb to just assume the same amount of cash that went into production
was also spent on the marketing.
"Exit 8" itself was something of an art-film too; more an experimental
piece than anything intended as a major mass-market film. So it's
unlikely a lot of dosh was spent promoting it. When it came to the US,
the release was limited (I can't find any hard numbers, but I wouldn't
be surprised if the number of theaters was less than 10).
On 7/25/2026 9:23 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
"Exit 8" itself was something of an art-film too; more an experimental
piece than anything intended as a major mass-market film. So it's
unlikely a lot of dosh was spent promoting it. When it came to the US,
the release was limited (I can't find any hard numbers, but I wouldn't
be surprised if the number of theaters was less than 10).
495 theatres.
On Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:13:41 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/25/2026 9:23 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
"Exit 8" itself was something of an art-film too; more an experimental
piece than anything intended as a major mass-market film. So it's
unlikely a lot of dosh was spent promoting it. When it came to the US,
the release was limited (I can't find any hard numbers, but I wouldn't
be surprised if the number of theaters was less than 10).
495 theatres.
I stand corrected. That's a lot of theaters (I say, proving that my mathematical expertise at least encompasses the ability to determine
that 10 < 495 ;-)
On 7/26/2026 8:43 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:13:41 -0700, Dimensional TravelerIts still "art house" numbers.ÿ The major releases (like the Marvel
<dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:
On 7/25/2026 9:23 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
"Exit 8" itself was something of an art-film too; more an experimental >>>> piece than anything intended as a major mass-market film. So it's
unlikely a lot of dosh was spent promoting it. When it came to the US, >>>> the release was limited (I can't find any hard numbers, but I wouldn't >>>> be surprised if the number of theaters was less than 10).
495 theatres.
I stand corrected. That's a lot of theaters (I say, proving that my
mathematical expertise at least encompasses the ability to determine
that 10 < 495 ;-)
series) can be over 4,000 theatres.ÿ Avengers: Endgame was over 4,600.
The Odyssey currently showing is 3,900.
Oh, and my source is for "North American" theatres, meaning US and Canada.
Backdoors opened to 3,442 locations and maxxed out at 3,565 locations.
It really was quite good. Maybe it was too subdued for you folk. Not
that many many space aliens with blasters, per se.
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