Journeying Into The Depths with “Iron Lung”

By Mo Hill, Opinion Editor

This past Friday I had the opportunity of seeing “Iron Lung,” a self funded movie written and directed by Mark Fischbach – famously known as the YouTuber “Markiplier.” Released on Jan. 30, the movie is based on the game of the same name, which was developed by David Szymanski and released on March 10, 2022. I went to see the 7:40 p.m. showing at Regal Elmwood, and after a long and perilous journey through the depths (walking back to campus) after the movie ended, I finally had the time to sit down and write this review on it. If you’re interested in seeing the movie and you haven’t played the game, be careful – there might be some minor spoilers in this article.

I would like to talk about the potential negatives before the positives, just to leave off on a good note. But, first, I should explain what “Iron Lung” is. For those who don’t know, “Iron Lung” is an eldritch horror game that takes place in a futuristic setting. It follows humanity as it survives the fallout of the ‘Quiet Rapture,’ an event in which all planets, stars and moons mysteriously disappeared, leaving only those remaining on space stations and star ships to rebuild what they could. The film follows a character named Simon (played by Markiplier), as he descends into the depths of a moon covered in an ocean of blood and navigates it via submarine. 

With that out of the way, I want to talk about the pacing of the film. It starts slowly, but it picks up around thirty minutes in and stays the course. There are calmer, slower moments but there are also parts of the film that are intense across longer stretches, and honestly? It kept my blood pumping the entire time. The pacing of the film may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it a lot, and I think that it has done better than other movies that try to fit just as much into a shorter film.

Next up, the audio design. This isn’t something that I personally found irritating, but the actual audio mixing itself wasn’t done in the most effective way. It was very chaotic as conversations between characters sometimes overlapped, which could cause people to be turned off from the movie. As I mentioned before, I didn’t find it irritating at all. In fact, I think it added to the chaotic nature of the film. Between the intense music and the chaos unfolding throughout, it got crazy at times and did a good job of messing with my head – but I can imagine how it may irritate others.

Funnily enough, I think that the audio design was also a positive aspect of the movie, even outside of the claims I had made in the previous paragraph. The ambient noise throughout the film made the setting eerie, and it added to the feeling of isolation that I felt as I watched Simon traverse the depths. The audio helped the world feel real and believable, and the soundtrack added another layer to the rest of the film, both in its tense moments as well as in its calmer moments. 

Lastly, I want to bring up the setting. The setting made the entire movie and set a foundation for the rest of the layers to build upon, which I think made for a very unique experience. The entire movie is set inside of the submarine that Simon uses to explore this barren blood covered moon. This confinement leaves the viewer stuck with Simon and provides no escape for either, which makes for some very interesting moments that will leave you questioning what is real and what is not. I believe that the combination of the genre of the film and the setting that it takes place in makes for a truly unique and unforgettable experience that will leave you asking for more of this carefully crafted universe.  

“Iron Lung” was a great experience and while it had its flaws, I believe that it deserves any praise that it gets. In one day of previews, the film made its entire budget back – and over the course of the weekend it made a total of $18.1 million dollars. The film is of exceptional quality given its small budget and I believe that this movie is a faithful adaptation to the game. Instead of detracting from the original source material like several other video game adaptations have (let’s not talk about Resident Evil), the movie in some cases builds or improves upon the original material. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the game, of Markiplier or of thrillers in general!