“Iron Lung”, an indie film with a tiny budget, recently toppled Hollywood movies at the box office. Mark Fischback, also known by his YouTube moniker Markiplier, wrote, directed, produced and starred in “Iron Lung”. 

The movie has been a passion project for Fischback ever since he first played the online game “Iron Lung” in 2022. With the help of the original game’s creator, David Szymanski, Fischback helped bring the horrific nature of the game to life.  

The story

The story of “Iron Lung” takes place in a universe where all life and habitable planets have suddenly disappeared due to the Quiet Rapture. The only people left are those who were aboard space stations. Along with the Quiet Rapture, a mysterious moon randomly appeared in space. 

In search of an explanation and a new home, scientists from space send criminals down to navigate an ocean of blood on the moon, promising them freedom if they bring back valuable data. 

The film follows Simon, a convict played by Fischback himself, who boards a submarine to explore the uncharted sea of blood. His mission is to bring back information to the surface in hopes of gaining his freedom. 

The lingering sense of dread that comes with being in an unknown place is exemplified with Simon’s narrow view of the outside world shown through a tiny porthole and an x-ray camera that he must use to complete his documentation. 

Watching Simon’s sanity start to break as he spends more time in the submarine immerses the audience in his psychological descent.

The cast

Fischback isn’t the only internet star in the cast. Another gaming YouTuber, Sean Williams McLoughin, plays a small role as a scientist but still provides a satisfying performance with his limited screen time. 

Caroline Kaplan plays the only other visible character in the movie, a scientist in charge of Simon’s mission. Kaplan has compelling chemistry with Fischback’s character, revealing her character arc. Her character is cold and unlikeable, but her performance elicits empathy from the audience, shows her versatility.

The voice acting cast provides a chilling experience too, with standouts like Elsie Lovelock and Troy Baker bringing depth to the film even when they are not pictured.

My praises

The team behind “Iron Lung” excelled with the visuals. The film’s dark color grading enhances the horror atmosphere and creates a cohesive mood of isolation.

The acting stood out as well. Simon is the focal point of the film, so the performance had to be good. Fischback’s acting brought the viewer into his psychotic breaks and his despair in his isolation. He navigated the complexity of this character well for his first ever role on the big screen.

Even when in the more unsettling moments, I couldn’t help but watch as he experienced his terrifying journey.

My problems

This movie did an excellent job at making me want to run and hide.

However, some of that was from the poor exposition in the flashbacks. 

Even as someone familiar with the game, the incomplete and confusing flashback scenes added little to the overall story.

The dark motif was cool, but more action-heavy flashbacks had lots of quick motion in dim lighting, which strained my eyes and kept me from making out what was going on. 

Additionally, the more dialogue-based flashbacks didn’t have enough context behind them to understand their importance.

There’s also not much dialogue between the characters, and most of the movie is Simon talking to himself. The environment of the film is supposed to be isolating, but without seeing more conversations, the monologues did not hold my attention.

A lot of Simon’s dialogue was filled with cursing that seemed unnecessary. This writing choice was a cheap way to show how Simon feels and, the film would’ve been much more entertaining if his emotions were expressed through more meaningful dialogue or actions.

My overall thoughts

Despite these writing faults, the film was a very unique watch, and I think it will resonate with anybody who enjoys horror.

In a world where many people in the film industry are being laid off from big companies to increase profit, it’s nice to see an indie movie become the fourth highest grossing film worldwide on its opening weekend. 

“Iron Lung’s” critical and financial success proves that quality movies aren’t just about the amount of money companies put into it, but more about creating art people will enjoy. 

Are you interested in watching “Iron Lung,” or do you think it might be too scary?