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Exit 8 Star Recreates Anomaly in New York Subways on Wednesday

Popular indie game-based film Exit 8 makes its way to the New York City Subway on Wednesday. American independent film production and distribution company Neon Rated stated on social media, “There's an anomaly loose in New York!” Those who spot the film's iconic Walking Man actor Yamato Kochi at a subway station and say the pass phrase “TURN BACK” may receive a special prize.

The Walking Man will be at various stations between Fulton Street and Lexington Avenue–63rd Street between 9:15 a.m. and 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8.

Kochi also posted an image of himself dressed as The Walking Man on a plane to New York City just before Neon Rated made the announcement. Kochi stated, “I'm heading out” with a walking man, infinity, and United States flag emoji.

The Exit 8 film is based on the popular indie infinite-loop horror game The Exit 8 by KOTAKE CREATE. The movie premiered during the 78th Cannes International Film Festival in May 2025. The film subsequently opened in Japanese theaters on August 29. The film reached #2 in its opening weekend, selling 672,000 tickets and earning 960,867,600 yen (about US$6.09 million).

Neon Rated (Oscar-winning films Parasite, Anora U.S. distributor) will release the film in North America on April 10.

In the game, players are trapped at a subway station's underground passageway that goes in an endless loop. To escape to "Exit 8," the player must keep walking while looking carefully for any anomaly that provides clues (or foreshadow danger).

Sources: Neon Rated's X/Twitter account, Yamato Kochi's X/Twitter account via allsee's Bluesky account