Iron Lung movie review

by Bodhi Haugen

Iron Lung is based on an unsettling indie horror game released in 2022. Mark Fischbach, also known as popular YouTuber Markiplier, served as the film’s writer, director, producer, editor, and lead actor. The movie was also entirely self-financed by Fischbach, which made the project even more ambitious. 

I purchased my tickets a week prior and was excited to see Fischbach bring his passion project to life in theaters. I was stunned by what I saw when I walked into Broadway Cinemas late on a Friday night — I hadn’t seen a theater so packed since the release of The Force Awakens over 10 years ago.

Going in, I wasn’t sure where to place my expectations for a YouTuber movie. I had concerns that the acting might fall short or that the thriller genre could be tainted by my preconceived knowledge of Markiplier as the protagonist. Still, I had hope. 

Nearly the entire film takes place inside a cramped submarine, with the window and exit welded shut. In this universe, all known planets have mysteriously disappeared, leaving only a single planet with an ocean of blood behind, along with space stations where what remains of humanity survives. Simon, played by Fischbach, is assigned to explore the ocean floor as punishment for his crimes, tasked with researching the phenomenon known as The Quiet Rapture.

The film excels at making the viewer feel claustrophobic. The submarine is dimly lit and tightly confined, and I rarely saw more than Simon himself could. This limited perspective heightened the tension in various scenes.

Throughout most of the movie, the only characters we hear are Simon and various voices over the intercom built into the submarine. This places Fischbach’s performance under the spotlight, as the audience spends nearly the entire runtime alone with him. Although the acting wasn’t the best I have seen, Fischbach sold a convincing performance in many of the film’s tense scenarios. 

A setting like this thrives on silence, and that’s where the movie occasionally stumbles. I felt that Iron Lung relied too heavily on unnecessary monologues from both Simon and the intercom, which pulled me out of the immersion in certain scenes rather than letting the tension speak for itself.

Visually, the film does not fall. Fischbach was creative with his shot composition, which amplified the anxiety of being on an underwater vessel. The use of unconventional camera angles helped me feel like I was in the submarine with Simon, rather than just observing it.

Despite watching gameplay videos beforehand and being familiar with Markiplier’s content, I left the theater with more questions than I had going in. The film expands on the game’s eerie lore, but not enough information is provided for all the pieces to easily fall into place by the time the credits roll. While this may have been intentional, a bit more clarity would have helped the average viewer feel a little less lost.

This movie isn’t for everyone — if you’re a fan of the game or of Markiplier, you’ll probably love it, despite some flaws. As a passion project and self-funded film, Iron Lung is visually compelling and holds its own alongside big Hollywood budgets. Even if you don’t have any prior connection to the game or Fischbach himself, the movie is still worth watching, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be experienced in theaters.

I give it a 78% on ripe potatoes.