Intro: My long, hot horror Summer continues!
Film 2498: "Iron Lung" (2026), directed by Mark Fischbach
Watched: From the projector
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: I knew nothing about this film before hearing about it on TikTok. Someone was talking about this renaissance moment for the horror genre, and "Iron Lung" was quoted as one of the entries that contributed to this revival. So, obviously, I was extremely curious.
And look, I didn't hate the movie, but it definitely wasn't made for me. I appreciate the effort that went into creating a product like this on a small budget ($3 million), and all the hard work that went into bringing it to life, considering Mark Fischbach (Markiplier on YouTube) wrote it, directed it, edited it and, yeah, you guessed it, starred in it. So it's clearly a project he really believed in and put a lot of effort into creating. I respect that.
That said, I think the issue of setting your whole story in one confined space becomes more and more evident as the story progresses. Don't get me wrong, it's not that the story gets boring because we're stuck in one place. That's not it. But when a movie with a limited budget is also shot in a tiny submarine where all the props look a bit on the cheaper side... You start to notice. The command control has like 10 buttons overall. The whole room where the main character spends all his time is empty. There's literally so much space you could fit eight other people. And the images that come from the scanner... I understand they're supposed to mimic the original material this film is based on -- the submarine simulation horror game "Iron Lung" created by David Szymanski -- but damn, you really don't understand what you're looking at. Yeah, every now and again the shape of a monster would be easier to spot, but for the rest I was like... What's going on?
Additionally, I found the plot quite confusing. I do believe it was partially my fault because I didn't have subtitles and I would occasionally miss a line or two, but I still thought things could have been explained a bit more clearly. At least this is the point of view of a person who never played the game this is taken from, nor has ever heard about it before watching this movie. I had to go on Wikipedia to read the plot to be able to piece some things together... And that's never a good thing.
Again, I don't necessarily blame the movie. I think after a while I got a bit bored and my brain zoned off and wandered a bit too much. I read that fans of the video game actually appreciated "Iron Lung", so... good for them!
Cast: Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, Elle LaMont, Mick Lauer, Seán McLoughlin, Isaac McKee.
Box Office: $51.2 million
Worth a watch?: Not for me. I wouldn't even consider this a horror movie, to be honest. If you like the game or know about it and you're curious, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, I'd recommend watching something else. Especially if you're claustrophobic.
Awards: /
Key word: Sample.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
Watched: From the projector
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: I knew nothing about this film before hearing about it on TikTok. Someone was talking about this renaissance moment for the horror genre, and "Iron Lung" was quoted as one of the entries that contributed to this revival. So, obviously, I was extremely curious.
And look, I didn't hate the movie, but it definitely wasn't made for me. I appreciate the effort that went into creating a product like this on a small budget ($3 million), and all the hard work that went into bringing it to life, considering Mark Fischbach (Markiplier on YouTube) wrote it, directed it, edited it and, yeah, you guessed it, starred in it. So it's clearly a project he really believed in and put a lot of effort into creating. I respect that.
That said, I think the issue of setting your whole story in one confined space becomes more and more evident as the story progresses. Don't get me wrong, it's not that the story gets boring because we're stuck in one place. That's not it. But when a movie with a limited budget is also shot in a tiny submarine where all the props look a bit on the cheaper side... You start to notice. The command control has like 10 buttons overall. The whole room where the main character spends all his time is empty. There's literally so much space you could fit eight other people. And the images that come from the scanner... I understand they're supposed to mimic the original material this film is based on -- the submarine simulation horror game "Iron Lung" created by David Szymanski -- but damn, you really don't understand what you're looking at. Yeah, every now and again the shape of a monster would be easier to spot, but for the rest I was like... What's going on?
Additionally, I found the plot quite confusing. I do believe it was partially my fault because I didn't have subtitles and I would occasionally miss a line or two, but I still thought things could have been explained a bit more clearly. At least this is the point of view of a person who never played the game this is taken from, nor has ever heard about it before watching this movie. I had to go on Wikipedia to read the plot to be able to piece some things together... And that's never a good thing.
Again, I don't necessarily blame the movie. I think after a while I got a bit bored and my brain zoned off and wandered a bit too much. I read that fans of the video game actually appreciated "Iron Lung", so... good for them!
Cast: Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, Elle LaMont, Mick Lauer, Seán McLoughlin, Isaac McKee.
Box Office: $51.2 million
Worth a watch?: Not for me. I wouldn't even consider this a horror movie, to be honest. If you like the game or know about it and you're curious, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, I'd recommend watching something else. Especially if you're claustrophobic.
Awards: /
Key word: Sample.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi
