Iron Lung

Based on a videogame I had never heard of, directed by a filmmaker who is mostly associated with making YouTube videos, I didn’t know what to expect for Iron Lung. I’m familiar with Mark Fischbach, more prominently known as Markiplier, through my wife, who used to be a huge fan of his. Otherwise though, on my end, I don’t know a whole lot about him beyond the fact that he did Let’s Plays on YouTube and played a big part in the success of the Five Nights at Freddy’s videogame series. YouTubers turned horror filmmakers have become all the rage these days though – with Obsession and Backrooms setting the box office on fire this year, so I know better than to turn up my nose at it.

On the financial side, it looks like Markiplier betting on himself paid off nicely. Iron Lung grossed 51.4 million at the worldwide box office from a reported budget of 3 million. Very impressive! On the critical side, the film has received mixed reviews from critics and more casual moviegoers, but the fans who support Markiplier appear to be mostly happy with the film.

It’s an interesting film.

Basically, the film is an apocalyptic science-fiction film, following a convict played by an aforementioned Mark Fiscbach, who is forced to pilot a submarine and use a submarine to traverse an ocean of blood after an event called the “Quiet Rapture” caused all the stars and habitable planets to disappear without explanation.

It’s a film with a handful of different actors involved, including notable voice-actor Troy Baker, and what I thought was a good, mostly voice-acting performance from Caroline Kaplan, but it’s mostly a vehicle for Markiplier to display his acting chops. Of which, he has some. He doesn’t exactly deliver the most dynamic or explosive of performances – some might even go as far as saying he came off wooden, stiff, or boring with his delivery. Personally, I’m a mixed-bag. He definitely plays it straight and he definitely has some limitations as an actor, but I also think his performance was par for the course for what he was going for, and he doesn’t overexpose his own limitations. An instance, here and there, that may land as melodramatic, but, overall, I think he did really well.

I was confused for most of the film. It’s true, and it is one of the reasons I feel like Iron Lung will be a very polarizing film for general audiences. The film feels like it would sit well side by side with Mandy and other cosmic horror released in the last decade. By the end, I think most moviegoers will be able to piece together what was happening and understand the general gist of what the film is going for, but its pacing and execution is unconventional.

It is a slow burn where a lot of times passes with instances where not a whole, whole lot happens. I’ve seen other reviews harp on the film for being boring and tedious, and I think that is a perfectly reasonable takeaway for the film. Concision is important, and, with the film clocking out at 125 minutes, I think there is an argument to be made that this film could’ve and should’ve been at least half an hour shorter. So many things feel like they either didn’t need to happen or could’ve happened differently, at least when looking at it from a critical lens.

At the same time, I did think there was something visually arresting throughout the film. Plainly put, I liked the vibes all the way through. It is atmospheric and clearly handled with care. The submarine evokes a seventies feel, akin to the first Alien or other science-fiction films released in that time frame, while the cinematography feels like it is always doing something, with a careful, patient approach that feels both refreshing and different for the modern-age, and a little bit like it is trying to make up for the lack of things that are actually happening on the screen.

The spectacle is there, the setting is interesting, and I think the directing and performances are amicable enough to do justice to the concept, but, while I think I was interested, I wasn’t as deeply invested or as enthralled as what I likely should have been. I do believe a lot of the disorientation to the film is done purposefully – you’re meant to have a certain disconnect and disarray, with the confusion pairing nicely with the character’s loosening grips on his own sanity. That, I can appreciate from an artistic perspective, even if it doesn’t always accomplish a conventionally entertaining film.

By the end, I’d offer a cautious recommendation to moviegoers to check out Iron Lung. I don’t think it will be for everyone. In fact, I’d wager that it won’t be for a whole, whole lot of you, but it’s different than a lot of other horror films that come out these days. And I welcome it when things are different. It isn’t necessarily better than the movies it is different from, but it’s solid, has some cool imagery and is far more interesting of a film than the average filmmaker gets to deliver in their debut.