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GEnki Kawamura is something of a polymath. A best-selling author, filmmaker, scriptwriter and producer – he is a lifelong gamer who grew up playing and being inspired by the famous Nintendo designer’s games. Shigeru Miyamoto. His latest project Exodus 8, now in theaters, is a fun adaptation of the Japanese horror game, created by a coder based in Kyoto, who works under the name Kotake Create. Kawamura said: “I was impressed by the design of the game and the beauty of its graphics. “At the same time, I watched many presenters play. I also saw, I realized that although the game is very simple, each player creates his own story, and each player brings his own interests.
The idea behind the Exodus 8 game is simple. The player finds himself trapped in an endless maze of subway stations in Tokyo. Seeing narrow, brightly lit corridors in first person, you pass the same signs, the same silent walker, the same locked doors over and over again. The only way to escape is to see mistakes every time you pass through them – maybe the eyes in the picture start following you, maybe the passenger stops and smiles – at which point you have to go back the way you came back. Complete eight rounds without missing a mistake and you can leave through an unknown path. No story, no reason at all. The secret is part of the request.
But for this movie, Kawamura realized that he needed to expand his experience with a comprehensive story and focused themes. Episode 8 begins with a passenger on a crowded train who sees a crying mother being beaten by someone. He doesn’t intervene, instead he downloads music on his smartphone. When she got off the train, her ex-girlfriend called her and told her she was pregnant. He asks what he will do now. Because of the fear, he suffers from asthma and finds himself alone in the subway and cannot escape. What follows is a dizzying and emotional frenzy, part Groundhog Day, part Vivarium. The silent one sometimes combs him, blood drips from the vents, the lights go on, the tunnels re-form and reshape themselves as the streets of the Overlook hotel.
Kawamura says: “The starting point was my daily commute on the Tokyo subway. “On a crowded train, everyone is absorbed in their phones, locked in their own world.” Even if a child is crying in front of him, he doesn’t notice. Our phones have pictures of war and violence, but we pass by, without looking.
He began to wonder what would happen if self-inflicted guilt seemed like a problem at the gate of an endless hospital. How dangerous would it be? He said: “I felt that the balcony was like a purgatory, inspired by the Divine Comedy. “The yellow sign Exit 8 was designed as a God-like presence, something that rules the sky and watches over people as they face their sins. I realized that the rule of the game – ‘If you see something strange, turn back; if not, keep going’ – it shows the choices we are forced to make in life.
Exit 8 is not that confusing. Three years ago, it was one of those indie horror games that took place in empty corridors, empty office buildings and other slightly disturbing urban areas. It was different on The Backrooms, “creepypasta” internet fiction, born on the chaotic message board 4chan. Starting one post in 2019students began to share horror stories, pictures and thoughts about the small inescapable spaces that unwary victims can enter, becoming trapped. Games quickly picked up the idea, and movies are coming in too, both with Exit 8 and A24 coming up. Back rooms. For many, the empty spaces that surround us in cities – parking lots, airports and hotel lounges – are a real reflection of the alienation and fear that exists – a modern alternative to palaces.
Kawamura says: “They take away the great fear that is in people’s memory.” The simpler the landscape, the more it invites the viewer to look inside, to confront their emotions, to show their memories and guilt towards nature.
“More than external threats such as monsters or ghosts, what is dangerous is opening a hidden door inside us. And I think people today are more attracted to that ambiguity – the blurred border between AI and reality, between game and film…”
