“Iron Lung”, the highly anticipated film debut directed by and starring popular YouTuber Markiplier. is a slow-paced, claustrophobic Sci-Fi Horror that feels like a spiritual successor to Event Horizon (1997)
Based on the 2022 game of the same name by David Szymanski, the film follows a convict named Simon, performed by Markiplier, stuck in a rickety submarine nicknamed “the Iron Lung,” trying to obtain information on a moon with a blood ocean in exchange for his freedom.
The events of the film take place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event titled the “Quiet Rapture” caused all stars and planets to mysteriously disappear, the only survivors being those living on space stations.
Almost the entire movie takes place within the submarine, aside from one scene where it is briefly brought back to the station. Even then, the station is only seen from within the submarine.
This choice of having the entire movie in what is essentially one big room was made up for through the usage of interesting camera angles, Simon constantly moving from task to task, and a shockingly good sound design with the underwater sounds and ominous music composed by Andrew Hulshult.
Preying on the fear of being trapped in a place where if one thing goes wrong, escape is impossible, the film is extremely tense throughout. Most of the scenes are filled with dread, as Simon has nearly no hope, is out of the loop, and is constantly either scared, confused, or frustrated.
The effects, especially towards the end where it goes off the rails and everything is submerged in blood, are akin to the Sci-Fi body horror of Event Horizon, even down to having a similar story about being stuck on a ship while suffering from hallucinations caused by unknown forces.
While he is the only person on-screen for 99.9% of the movie, Markiplier has room for improvement with his acting, as during certain highly emotional scenes, it reads as though he was not familiar enough with the script to properly emote.
A common criticism of the game is that the story is confusing, with the lore behind the Quiet Rapture, who is making Simon go on the mission, and the blood moon itself not being explained well enough.
The movie does not build much more on the game, aside from giving Simon a name (in the game, he is only known as Convict) and a vague background story.
Otherwise, it follows the game’s story events almost exactly.
For a movie adaptation, the benefit of being the character and seeing through their eyes is absent. More exposition is needed for a film. Without it, when characters mention groups like “Eden” or spaceship names, it is hard to follow because viewers are reliant on explanations when they can’t explore the ship or read the lore within it themselves.
Regardless, just looking at it as a low-budget, independent Sci-Fi movie that was directed by, starring, co-produced, and distributed all by one person, it is pretty impressive what is accomplished, as the effects are far from campy and the visuals are genuinely haunting at times.
The movie has already made twice its budget within one week of opening and is in the domestic top three at the box office, so it is far from a failure money-wise.
For those interested in a unique, albeit confusing, Sci-Fi horror, Iron Lung is for them.
