Indie film “Iron Lung” is a stellar horror project, with storytelling and cinematography that hold up to any Hollywood blockbuster. Unfortunately, silly mistakes and an extensive runtime held back my enjoyment of an otherwise extraordinary film.
Every month, there seems to be another entry in the ever-growing list of video game adaptations. This category of film and television has been exhausting, to say the least. For most recent adaptations such as “A Minecraft Movie” and “Borderlands,” camp is about the highest praise I can muster, while occasional diamonds in the rough, such as “Arcane” and “Fallout,” keep me hopeful. When I heard that Mark Fischbach, known to most as gaming YouTube legend Markiplier, was directing an adaptation of 2022 indie horror gem “Iron Lung,” my expectations were equal parts high and low.
“Iron Lung” has been a standout to me since its release. If you are unfamiliar, “Iron Lung” is a game from indie developer David Szymanski. In the game, the player controls an unnamed protagonist piloting a submarine through an ocean of blood on a lone moon. Within the depths, the player gains information about what happens outside their iron walls solely through black-and-white photographs and ominous drones, from whatever might be in the blood. This claustrophobic nightmare is more of a study in tension, dread and paranoia than a traditional horror narrative. Needless to say, Markiplier had immense shoes to fill.
My biggest qualm and my biggest point of praise made themselves clear within the film’s opening minutes.
By every definition of the word, “Iron Lung” is a gorgeous film. Right from the start, the visuals shine through tense close-up shots and impressive setpieces. When the entire film takes place within the submarine, every shot counts. Close-ups of the submarine’s dated structure, the ominous drips of condensation and blood from pipes and the micro-expressions of Simon, the protagonist played by Markiplier, leave every shot feeling like a deliberate artistic choice. The avoidance of wide camera angles and sweeping shots keeps the film feeling claustrophobic and isolated — just as it should.
“Iron Lung” opens with a monologue, summarizing the premise and background of the film. The universe of “Iron Lung” is dead — the stars and planets vanished decades ago in an event called The Quiet Rapture, and the only survivors were those in space. Not long before the present storyline, at least four lonely moons drifting through space have filled with oceans of blood. This premise is one of my favorite parts of “Iron Lung.” It’s compelling and mysterious, yet short and sweet.
Unfortunately, if you didn’t know this premise beforehand, you probably left the theater with only a vague understanding of it. The clanging of the submarine descending and the drone of the admittedly well-orchestrated music make the opening monologue nearly impossible to hear, let alone understand. When the film ended, and I asked my friends for their thoughts, all of them completely missed the premise. I can’t blame them.
The sound design didn’t get much better as the film progressed. Simon’s dialogue with the supporting cast, such as the operations supervisor Ava, was done primarily through the submarine’s radio system. Unfortunately, the audio filter to achieve that radio effect made the dialogue almost completely inaudible at points.
Towards the end of the film, these two sound design issues collided, making every single line of dialogue almost completely unintelligible.
I went into “Iron Lung” knowing its two-hour runtime, which I was hesitant about, to say the least. It’s not often that you see a video game adaptation longer than its source material. With “Iron Lung” being a deliberately minimalistic story at one hour in length, I was worried the film might end up overstaying its welcome.
Much to my dismay, I was proven correct.
“Iron Lung’s” atmosphere thrives in the moments of mundanity. Markiplier and the rest of the production understood that, with a large amount of the film devoted to quietly building tension and atmosphere. For the most part, I absolutely loved these parts of the film. However, they definitely extended the film’s runtime more than necessary. Leading up to the film’s climax, the length was wearing on me. I don’t think that the film needed to be shortened by much; however, it needed trimming around the edges.
Despite my criticisms, “Iron Lung” was an incredibly promising film from debut director Markiplier. From a storytelling standpoint, the writers knocked it out of the park. They took a simple premise and expanded it into an interesting, feature-length storyline. Thematically sound, visually engaging, well-acted and a natural expansion of an incredible video game, “Iron Lung” will undoubtedly be a horror standout from this year. The film is still showing in Murray and Paducah, so I’d absolutely recommend checking it out while you can.
