The best horror debut game of 2023 is getting a movie next year

Exit 8one of the best and most creative horror games of 2023, has been adapted into a movie by the Japanese production company Toho. The film, which is simply called Finish 8premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in spring 2025 and was released in Japan at the end of August. Its North American release is set for 2026.

Even if Exit 8 is apparently a “walking simulator” and therefore inherently less cinematic than a movie-like game such as The last of usits translation into film makes a lot of sense. The video game is highly surreal and interpretive, putting players in the shoes of an unnamed man trying to leave a Tokyo subway station. This basic premise manifests itself as a PT-inspired sequence of looping halls, where each loop has a unique “anomaly” or alteration to the original version of the hall. Some of these can be small, like a poster with a new and unusual illustration, while others are extreme and unmistakable, like new NPCs and immediate threats like floods. There is a vague lore behind it Exit 8s creepy veneer, but again, that's up for interpretation.

Everything we know about The Exit 8 movie adaptation

Key player in the Exit 8 movie

Director: Genki Kawamura
Script: Kentaro Hirase & Genki Kawamura
Participating: Kazunari Ninomiya & Nana Komatsu
North American distribution of Neon

Director, writer and producer Genki Kawamura is perhaps best known for his literature, gaining international acclaim with the 2012 best-selling novel If cats disappeared from the world. Finish 8 is his third directorial project. Co-writer Kentaro Hirase had previously collaborated with Kawamura on Dualitya 2018 drama the pair co-directed.

The film stars Kazunari Ninomiya, who plays Finish 8the main character and Nana Komatsu, who plays a mysterious woman not in the original game. Of course, film convention requires it Finish 8s main character to be little more fleshed out than a silent, empty vessel for the audience. Ninomiya and Komatsu are central to this reinterpretation of the source material, helping to drive the plot, flesh out the background, and create stronger emotional stakes. Yamato Kochi, whose cast only begins in 2023, plays the enigmatic “Walking Man” players encounter in the game.

Although originally distributed by Japanese giant Toho, its North American release will be handled by Neon, a distributor best known for hit films such as Parasite, Goofyand Triangle of grief. Neon's strong track record, especially with international films, may provide additional hope Finish 8s quality.

Is the Exit 8 movie any good?

How North American audiences react to Output 8 remains to be seen, but the film's global release is off to a good start. It has been well received by video game adaptation standards and currently holds a 96% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was #2 at the Japanese box office in its debut weekend, beaten only by the most recent Demon Slayer Film. It also did well in South Korea, Russia and France. Awards are sparse as the film continues its theatrical run, but it was nominated for Best Feature Film at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain and won Best Music at the same event.

Apart from Cannes and Sitges, Finish 8 screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival.

When will Exit 8 be released in North America?

Finish 8 North American release window: early 2026

Neon has yet to set a firm release date for Finish 8but the company is aiming for early 2026. This NA release will bring the Japanese film to theaters across the US, Canada, and Mexico, although the exact extent of this distribution (eg, the number of theaters) has yet to be confirmed.

An early year release for Finish 8 is not exactly ideal, as there tend to be more moviegoers around the end of the year or during the summer. Some even refer to early months as “dump months”, as this is usually when distributors will launch projects with less earning potential. This makes it a common and even beneficial window for more horror movies out there Finish 8 as many iconic films and cult classics have been released during this time, including The silence of the lambs, Cloverfieldand Scanners.

What to expect from Exit 8's US release

It will certainly be interesting to see how Finish 8 performing with American audiences compared to those in Japan, France and elsewhere. Horror tropes and conventions are quite different around the world, so Finish 8s perception can be markedly different in the states. On a more optimistic note, Finish 8s American release will make it eligible for consideration at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. If Neon invests heavily in Finish 8as it has done with its previous international films, it has the potential to gain quite a bit of prestige when it lands in the Western Hemisphere.