I will be the first to admit that I am a big Markiplier fan. I recently wrote another article featuring him, in which I also mentioned that I often watch his gaming videos. I understand that writing about his movie will likely involve some bias, but I will do my best to keep it out of my review and look at the film honestly. 

This film, “Iron Lung,” is based on a 2022 video game of the same name, which was developed and produced by David Szymanski. It is a short game — most playthroughs would take between 45 minutes and an hour — and to most people, it will seem rather empty, as it has little more to it than the few objectives you have to find and take a photo of. 

I was originally introduced to the game by watching Markiplier’s playthrough of it from three years ago. I thought it was an interesting concept, and its repetitive nature was balanced out by the fact that the game didn’t last long enough for it to really feel all that stale.

Some of these issues transfer over to the movie as well. One of the most interesting choices for the movie is the fact that the entire film is shot inside the submarine. There are maybe three shots, totalling about 20 seconds, shot from the outside of the submarine. 

Largely as a result of this choice, many people found the movie to be far too slow. I will admit, the pacing is brutal, with long stretches of the movie showing Simon — Markiplier’s character, also referred to as “convict” — simply performing the same tasks over and over. 

I personally didn’t find the pacing boring at any point, and it fits the game’s source material well, but I can easily see how this pacing slows down the experience. I watched the movie twice, and I recognize there is certainly fluff. However, if that is known going in, I don’t think it will take away from the film’s strong parts.

I saw the movie with a friend, and he suggested cutting much of the monotony and replacing it with cutscenes to add more context for how Simon ended up in the sub. There is a plethora of information not provided by the movie, which viewers need to look up separately if they want anything close to the full story of this film. 

There are many strong aspects of the movie, and I think these need to be recognized as well. I’m not someone who analyzes movies in depth, but even I noticed the great work done in the sound design and cinematography. 

Sound design is often overlooked, but I thought it was great in “Iron Lung.” The Foley work was really well done, and every sound is incredibly realistic. From the dripping of blood to the otherworldly noises coming from outside the submarine, the audience is fully immersed in the terror of the blood ocean. 

The camera work and variety of shots throughout the film go a long way toward adding variety to a movie that essentially takes place in one set. 

Music in this film is typically used for dramatic effect, and it is done very well here. Incredibly tense moments feature loud swells that draw the audience into Simon’s fight for survival at the bottom of the ocean. Composer Andrew Hulshult brings his experience from Doom Eternal to this movie, and the blood-pumping adrenaline of the scores works really well in both instances. 

It’s hard to say what expectation I had going into a movie like this, but overall, I would say that I was pleasantly surprised. It certainly wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, but it is an impressive piece of self-financed filmmaking.

Markiplier seems to be a very ambitious creator, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts working on another huge project in the near future. I hope that he can use the experience from this movie going forward to raise independent filmmaking to an even higher level.

DeGear can be reached at [email protected].