Toronto 2025: Exit 8 & Karmadonna Lead the Genre Charge

Neon’s Exit 8 and the blood-soaked Karmadonna promise high-stakes horror at this year’s TIFF.

Toronto International Film Festival 2025: Exit 8 & Karmadonna Among Must-See Premieres

It was only a matter of time before this year’s Toronto International Film Festival unleashed its full slate, and we already have our eyes on a few can’t-miss titles. If you follow The Final Cut, you know one of the films we’ve had on our radar is the newly Neon-acquired Exit 8, based on the hit video game of the same name. The film will make its North American Premiere from acclaimed filmmaker Genki Kawamura.

It will be joined by the over-the-top, blood-soaked Karmadonna, making its World Premiere. These two titles are among the handful of genre standouts that will be worth watching closely—both inside TIFF and on the wider festival circuit.

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EXIT 8 (NEON) – North American Premiere

Synopsis:

Based on the globally popular game created by Kotake Create, a man becomes trapped in an endless, sterile subway passageway. His mission: find Exit 8. The rules are simple—

• Don’t overlook anything unusual.

• If you spot an anomaly, turn back immediately.

• If not, keep moving forward.

One mistake sends him back to the beginning. The question is: will he ever escape this infinite corridor?

Directed by: Genki Kawamura

Screenplay: Kentaro Hirase, Genki Kawamura

Produced by: Yuto Sakata, Kenji Yamada, Akito Yamamoto, Taichi Ito

Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, Nana Komatsu

Festival Screenings:

• Monday, September 8, 9:00 PM – North American Premiere (Scotiabank Theatre)

• Friday, September 12, 9:45 PM – Public Screening 2 (Scotiabank Theatre)

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KARMADONNA – World Premiere

Synopsis:

Yelena is joyfully expecting her first child—just 37 days to go—when she answers a call from an unknown number. The voice on the other end delivers an impossible ultimatum: obey his gruesome demands or watch her unborn baby die.

At first, she doubts the caller’s reality—until he provides supernatural proof of his power over her. Forced into a relentless game of cat-and-mouse, Yelena must navigate a bloody odyssey of murder, chaos, and fear. The deeper she goes, the more she’s pushed toward becoming something monstrous herself.

Darkly funny, violently unflinching, and dripping with suspense, Karmadonna plays like a modern fairytale from hell—where survival may only come through blood.

Written & Directed by: Aleksandar Radivojević

Produced by: Predrag Popović, Miloš Djukelić

Cast: Jelena Djokić, Sergej Trifunović, Milutin Karadžić

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Studio: N/A – Seeking Distribution

For more info:

https://tiff.net/