Iron Lung came out in 2026 to fairly good reviews.
Going in, I had no idea what to expect.
I knew Markiplier and Jackscepticeye from ye old youtube days, and of course Troy Baker from voicing Joel in the Last of Us, but that was it.
No trailer, no knowledge, just blind faith.
Imagine my surprise (well, only kinda, it’s Markiplier after all) when I found out that it was based on a video game. And I didn’t have any of the lore !
From YouTube to the director’s chair
First, I’d like to point out that you need balls of steel to try your luck making a horror movie as a youtuber nowadays.
You know the fandom has been through hell and back with -he who shall not be named- and a few others that have made terrible ones in the past.
It must have taken a LOT of courage for Markiplier to be front and center to that extent as well.
Not coming from a typical actor background and having to carry an entire movie must be rough.
It’s a true hit or miss moment, he had to sell it, and I’m glad he did.
To think he also wrote and directed it, those must have been an anxiety ridden few months…
The surprise was real when this one received good reviews within the first week, and kept a very high ranking at the box office. So I had to give it a try.
My judgment is inclined to give this movie a pass on some of its limitations due to this.
I’d be harsher if there was a huge studio behind it, but it truly held its own coming from an independent source.
There were some long moments, but hindsight is 20/20.
The people in my theater weren’t into it though, and I get that it’s not for all audiences.
A video game adaptation is always harder to sell to an uninformed public.
Please consider my lack of prior knowledge reading forward.
A claustrophobic chamber play
The story follows Simon, a convict, on a test mission in a janky submarine to explore an ocean of blood.
Humanity seems on the brink of extinction and salvation might only be found within the floor of the abyss.
The movie takes place in a chamber play, with only a short moment with other actors (including a blink and you miss it Jacksepticeye).
The story flows along nicely, you get the game mechanics of the tasks, the cutscenes and the dialogues parts.
Our protagonist is flawed and there is no real hero.
Is the Consolidation of Iron in the Caribbean ?
The gore is very well done, the submarine looks like it’s seen better days (which sells the tension), the suspense works with the light source being the radiation-powered camera, and the acting is solid.
It helped not knowing the plot because it kept me engaged.
And hearing Troy Baker is always a blessing.
The special effects made me chuckle at some point though. All I kept thinking was that Simon signed up onto the Flying Dutchman. When his arm was torn apart, I waited to hear « Part of the ship, part of the crew ».
It did drag along towards the end, and the whole oxygen-deprived/radiation-induced hallucinations lost my interest a little.
So all in all, it is pretty decent.
Do I want to try the game now ? That’s a strong maybe, if only to figure out if the beast is just a monster looking for food or a god-like sea of blood roaming all-knowing creature trying to preserve the knowledge of their universe.
It was a bold move, and I’m glad it exists, but I probably won’t watch it again.
My rating : 3/5 bats.
🦇🦇🦇 🩸 🩸