EXIT 8, the Japanese cult phenomenon lands in Australian cinemas April 23
Umbrella Entertainment will release the mind-bending Japanese thriller EXIT 8 in cinemas across Australia and New Zealand from April 23, with IMAX previews from April 16.
Based on the viral indie game sensation by KOTAKE CREATE, EXIT 8 is directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker, producer and bestselling author Genki Kawamura, the creative force behind global anime hits Your Name, Suzume, and Belle.
English-speaking audiences first discovered Kawamura through his debut novel If Cats Disappeared from the World, which has sold over two million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 25 languages. With EXIT 8, he brings his signature blend of high-concept storytelling and emotional depth into the realm of psychological horror.
Premiering in the Midnight section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, EXIT 8 has since built major buzz across the international circuit, with selections at Toronto International Film Festival, Sitges and Melbourne International Film Festival. The film was also a breakout hit in Japan, grossing over $38 million at the box office.
Blurring the lines between cinema, gaming and nightmare logic, EXIT 8 drops audiences into an endless, sterile subway corridor — a looping labyrinth where the rules are simple, but survival is not.
A man (Kazunari Ninomiya, Letters from Iwo Jima) must navigate the space by following a strict set of instructions:
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.
Miss even the smallest detail, and you’re sent back to the beginning.
As tension escalates, paranoia sets in, and the line between reality and illusion begins to collapse.
With its hypnotic visual design and precision-engineered soundscape, EXIT 8 transforms a familiar urban space into something deeply uncanny: an experience that will resonate with fans of psychological horror, Japanese genre cinema, and the new wave of indie game storytelling.
Special IMAX preview screenings will take place from April 16, offering audiences the chance to experience the film’s immersive world at full scale before its national release on April 23. In North America, the film will be released by Neon on April 10.
Genki Kawamura will also visit Australia as part of the 2026 Melbourne Writers Festival, where he will appear for a special Q&A screening of EXIT 8 at Cinema Nova on Friday 8 May, alongside a series of festival appearances. Elsewhere he’ll join Omar Musa for a conversation on his latest novel One Hundred Flowers at the Athenaeum Theatre, and will also appear at a Japanese-language event at The Capitol on Saturday 9 May, discussing his work across literature and film with Matt Alt.
EXIT 8 FILM INFORMATION
Director: Genki Kawamura
Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kôchi, Naru Asanuma
Runtime: 95 mins
Classification: TBC
Language: Japanese, with English subtitles
Official Synopsis: Based on the global hit video game created by KOTAKE CREATE, this mind-bending psychological thriller comes to cinemas on April 23 in Australia and New Zealand.
A man becomes increasingly desperate when he finds himself trapped in an endless, sterile subway passageway with no way out. He finds a set of rules: 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.
When even a single mistake will send him back to the beginning, will he ever escape this purgatory?
About the Author
Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.
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