“Iron Lung” is a sci-fi horror movie with a world-breaking record of 80,000 gallons of fake blood used. The indie film is directed, produced and self-financed by Mark Fischbach, also known for his popular YouTube videos under the name Markiplier. Despite having a budget of only $3 million dollars, “Iron Lung” made it to the top of the box office charts in its first opening weekend, proving to Hollywood that independent content creators can have a bigger influence on the entertainment industry than they think.
Based on the game of the same name, “Iron Lung” is set in a world where all the stars are gone and most of humanity has vanished. The film follows the story of a convict who is tasked with exploring a blood ocean on a moon called AT-5. Honestly, my expectations weren’t extremely high, considering it’s Markiplier’s first movie. I was just thrilled to see a youtuber, who I’ve been watching for years now, successfully make a movie with only a small team by his side.
One of my biggest concerns before going into the movie was Markiplier’s acting. After all, most of the movie was just going to be him in a submarine. But, I have to say I was surprised by how good his acting was. Sure, there were some parts where it was kind of hard to separate Markiplier from his character, but overall I think his acting was impressive especially towards the end of the movie and during the emotional parts.
Not only that, but I feel like the visuals were charming for a low-budget movie. Some parts were weaker than others, but overall, the movie looked really nice on the big screen. I think some of the strongest parts of the movie were the lighting and set design. Much like Markiplier’s acting, the design of the iron lung itself is crucial to the movie since that’s where the whole movie takes place. And yet, the movie tackled that perfectly, with most frames being pleasing to look at.
As for the story, if you don’t know much about the game, or you’re not that good at catching little details, it might be a bit confusing. Personally, I did get a bit lost towards the end. Some of the information is presented vaguely and important information can be easy to miss. One of my biggest critiques is some of the sound mixing. At certain times, I found it kind of difficult to understand what the people were saying and I felt like I missed important information because of that. However, I don’t mind not understanding some of the story because it gives me a reason to go back and watch it a second time.
One of my favorite parts about the film is how good of a videogame adaptation it is. The game is well-known for its immersive atmosphere through ambience, and the film replicates that perfectly. Much like the game, there’s no jumpscares in the movie, but it still had me on my toes the whole time. However, in order to help build that suspense, “Iron Lung’s” pacing was pretty slow throughout the movie. I feel like this causes a lot of people to turn away from the movie, especially because it’s a two hour and seven minute movie. Personally, I don’t think the pacing is too much a problem because without it, the movie wouldn’t be as suspenseful.
Overall, I really enjoyed “Iron Lung.” However, I’m confident to say it’s not a movie for everyone. If you’re a fan of Markiplier and the game, or you like slow paced atmospheric movies, then I would definitely say to give it a try. The movie had its flaws, but I’m proud of Markiplier for making “Iron Lung” and bringing back $27 million. It really shows that independent films can be successful, and that individuals can succeed in the entertainment department past Hollywood’s walls.
