It is impossible to see the movie Iron Lung and not think of a million cynical thoughts beforehand. I first thought about the fact that it is a movie based on a 30-minute video game. There is also the fact that this is a horror movie made by a Youtuber, Markiplier aka Mark Fischbach, who typically makes content for younger audiences. However, even with my preconceived notions and expectations, I decided to see if the movie was any good. I went with my mom hoping to be pleasantly surprised. 

Before getting into it I feel the need to say that while I have not played the game Iron Lung, I know everything that happens in it from watching the youtubers I like play it. More importantly, I fear my enjoyment of the film was dampened by the fact that this was one of the most unpleasant theater experiences I have had in a while. Although the theater was not completely full, I did have the unfortunate luck of sitting near a man who within 10 minutes into the movie began to snore very loudly. The snoring continued for over an hour and was a continuous thorn in my side while I was trying to watch the movie. 

But enough about external circumstances, in my opinion the movie was fine. It was basically just the Iron Lung game that came to life.   The main character, Simon, is trapped in a submarine, which is floating in an ocean of blood, and he is taking pictures to document his findings. The pacing was bad in some places, and there was a solid 10 minutes of the film which was just footage of blood dripping onto the floor.   

I saw this movie with my mom, and I decided to interview her to see what she thought. 

I first asked my mother if she liked the movie and she replied that she did not. I then asked what she did not like about it.   She responded that it “needed more characters and more dialog.” She also didn’t like the fact that the entire movie took place in one location, which she found to be particularly boring.  I asked her if she would see another movie by this Youtuber if he made one and she said, “no, I think I am good.” 

I think it’s cool that a movie like this was made but it was a terrible theater experience. Between the snoring and the pacing issues, it left me not getting everything I wanted out of Iron Lung.