Whether you love it or hate it, the film Iron Lung is the unicorn of indie movies. On paper, something like it isn’t supposed to work, and we are told that movies like this just aren’t possible. Then some YouTuber called Markiplier tells the Hollywood studio system to hold his beer and produces a two-hour film adapted from his favorite indie video game featuring a guy in a tiny ocean-floor sub and to everyone’s surprise… it worked!

So, why does this impossible film work? And is this the kind of movie for you?

Let’s get into why this unicorn works, why it doesn’t, and what the studios can learn from this YouTuber who took a wild chance and reimagined how to make a modern film. There is a lot to talk about, but before we get started, please be sure to give this video a thumbs up and subscribe if this is the kind of movie discussion that helps you.

You can read the review below or watch the video review on YouTube:

The premise is simple. Humanity is in its final days as the universe quietly blinks out of existence, an event they call “The Quiet Rapture.” They don’t understand it themselves, which means that they can’t explain it either, which I think it fine because it sets up the last vestiges of humanity to be operating from a frightened, desperate response mode with little to now hope of survival for the future. That gives us a rare look into a world that is only as big as one man’s lived experience. That’s all we need to know about Simon’s story, as a convict who is part of the last living group of humans on a station orbiting a single moon that is covered in an ocean of what looks like blood.

The film begins with Simon, inside the hull of a tiny ocean sub, in a conversation with the ship’s captain as she gives him instructions on his mission to photograph the ocean floor in exchange for his freedom. Simon has no idea why he is doing this or what they hope to gain from these images, but he also doesn’t care. He just wants his freedom. While he’s down there, he finds something odd, which sets off a series of new tasks and changed circumstances that complicate his return. Meanwhile his time and air are running out as things are not what they seem, creating a tense, deadline driven narrative that doesn’t shy away from being a little obscure in order to create a film that delivers a surprisingly good story arc with just enough clues to make you think that maybe there is a way to save humanity, if he can survive.

First Impressions

It’s a good set up. It’s not as polished or finessed as you might get out of Hollywood, but it’s also that roughness that makes the film work as an atmospheric horror film. This is Simon’s reality. We never know more than him. We never see more than him, and it’s that narrow narrative scope that convinces us that something will happen. I know that sounds fairly obvious but there are so many films that just keep you wandering around with the character while you are wondering “Will something ever happen?” and it’s the gap between those two feelings that keep you invested in Simon’s story.

Simon’s world is microscopic compared to the scope that we usually get in a film. It’s just as big as the interior of his sub. The technology is basic because we are looking at a society that is literally falling apart with dwindling resources. So, we get the simplest of interiors from rusty walls to a rudimentary console for navigation and a square button for taking photos. I often talk about the need to put science and technology into science fiction films, and this is an excellent example of that because the tech we get is on par with what is available to these people in the film. Simon’s survival is dependent upon this basic tech set up and the tasks he needs to complete. It proves that point that science fiction doesn’t have to depict as glossy polished future. It just has to accurately reflect the society within the film, and if you have a hard science fiction film, the core conflict and the character’s choices need to involve the use of the tech as part of the interactive story world.

What’s shocking with this film is that it’s flawed and rough around the edges. There is so much that is unexplained and the world that we see is tiny. Worse, Simon is the only character we see or interact with in the film, with a couple of minor exceptions. On paper this film should never have worked and any studio executive listening to the pitch would have unceremoniously shown Markiplier the door because there is a lot of audacity here for some YouTuber to not only think he could write, direct, and produce this film, but he also wanted to act in it as well? Never! But that’s exactly what he does.

Why It Works

It’s not perfect and polished, I think that’s why it works. Nobody in this film really understands what happened to the universe, and I think that’s actually what it would feel like to the last people alive. They are scared, desperate, and lost. They don’t have the answers, and they are trying to carve out any last moments of safety before they also disappear into The Quiet Rapture because what else can they do? That’s exactly what makes this such a human film.

I also think that Markiplier’s passion for the game and this project come through in his performance. He is so invested in Simon’s experience. I feel like there is nothing he wants more than for Simon to complete his task, get out of that sub, and survive a little longer. His performance feels authentic and genuine. There was never a moment in this film that I felt a disconnect between what Simon was experiencing as a character and what Markiplier was experiencing as an actor. Sometimes in a film this low budget or a story this rough, we see moments of the actor peeking through as the character moves about his environment doing the tasks that the director has setup for the scene. I honestly can’t point to a single moment in the film where I felt that kind of disconnect between the actor and the character, which is incredible to think about since I think this is literally Markiplier’s first major role.

So, yes, I was massively impressed by what he achieved with Iron Lung. This odd indie horror film should never have worked as a major motion picture released into theaters alongside other films that cost tens of millions of dollars to produce.

Where It Falls Short

That doesn’t mean this film was perfect. It absolutely had some flaws. It was a bit too long, and if Markiplier has a little more experience, I think he would have cut a few scenes and shortened the screentime to tighten the experience. While I was fine with not knowing all of the ins and outs of the story, there were moments when I wanted a little more worldbuilding to understand the scope of Simon’s world. There were also some scenes that felt like the story logic didn’t connect with Simon’s reality and while there were some loose triggers within the film that could explain the reality disconnects none of that was really explained. While I want to call that a flaw, I also think there was just enough explanation to get away with the odd narrative flow at the point when things we are seeing and hearing aren’t adding up.  However, I also felt like it wasn’t that hard to let those issues go because of the nature of what Simon was experiencing in this little sub as his oxygen started to run out and delirium started to set in because of his confinement.

There are also a few moments in the film when, if you are squeamish at all, you might find yourself squinting your eyes and turning away because you just can’t watch what’s happening. Those moments are few and far between, but they are there, and the fact that this is a small world, atmospheric, horror film keeps those moments from feeling out of place.

The Game Adaptation

Iron Lung was adapted from a game, and I’ve never played the game. I’ll probably not play the game, just to be clear, but I don’t feel like I needed to know anything about the game to understand this story. I did want to know just a little more about the world, but there was never a point when I felt absolutely lost or frustrated with the film. It’s a dark movie and it’s one that will resonate deeply with the audience that it was made for, and I think that you will know from this description if Iron Lung is the kind of movie that you are interested in seeing. It feels a bit like a video game at times, but it never feels like a lazy adaptation that takes advantage of the game’s built-in audience because we really do get to feel Simon’s lived experience within the story, which makes it feel original, if not a little slow from time to time.

Recommendation

So, is Iron Lung ticket worthy? There is a lot to recommend, especially if you are interested in seeing what a Hollywood outsider is capable of pulling off at the same general scale as industry professionals. Sure, it could have been more polished, and it could have been a bit more developed, but none of those deficiencies actually take away from the overall impact of the film, especially if you enjoy indie horror that is made by someone who is passionate about the story that they are telling.

If you need a story that has all of the rough edges polished off and tries to answer all of the questions that you might have as a viewer, I think you are likely to be a little frustrated with the film and will leave the theater feeling the absence of certain parts of the story that you knew existed but are never shown.

Final Thoughts

The most remarkable thing about this film is that Markiplier made it with $3 million. It’s still more than most of us have available to spend on a pet project, but he took a bet on himself, and it paid off by bringing in over $44 million worldwide as of the time of this review. That’s impressive and I am sure it has Hollywood executives scrambling, especially since Markiplier didn’t turn to using massive amounts of AI to generate video sequences.

So, Iron Lung, have you seen it? Have you played the video game? What did you think of the adaptation? And, have you ever heard of Markiplier? I hadn’t before this film and he’s a huge YouTuber, which just goes to show you how enormous this platform of creators actually is!

If you enjoyed this review, please give it a like and subscribe for more. You can also visit my YouTube channel at @ErinUnderwood for more videos.