"Iron Lung" An Admirable, if Flawed Film

 

    Not all 50's are created equal you know? This may come off as a bit of a weird intro but I left this movie not thinking it was particularly good in any sense, but it was impressing, considering how it was financed, and the fact that it starred and was written by a Youtuber. Like, this movie certainly did not blow me away, but it gave me enough hope that maybe if Markiplier ever released another project, maybe I'd consider going to see it. It's most certainly an interesting and ambitious undertaking creatively there's no way around that. Even if you didn't like the film you have to admire someone's first real foray into the movie industry being a solo film where you're largely by yourself on a single set acting your heart out for two hours. So let's talk about it.

    On one hand, the most interesting part of this film was that it's filmed entirely in a single location, that being the "iron lung" so to speak. Markiplier does an admirable job of trying to keep the movie interesting for the entirety of his film, and I never really had any complaints about his acting at all, except for the very end when he yells that line about wanting the butcher, I'll admit I did chuckle a little bit at that scene. On the other hand, it's a double-edged sword, the film is also hindered greatly by the fact that it was filmed in a single location, that being the "iron lung" so to speak. Maybe if this film was an hour? Perhaps I wouldn't be complaining as much. But it's a hard feat to achieve, to stay watchable, compelling for two hours alone in a set, and it'd be a challenge for anyone no matter how accomplished they are as actors/directors. 

    The limitations create interesting scenario's/shots, but at the same time you do wonder how much more this film could have shown if it "took the easy route" as one might put it. Because on the flip side the lore/world behind this movie is pretty interesting. I did quite enjoy the more sci-fi elements of this film and kind of wanted to hear more about this "Quiet Rapture" or at the very least a little bit more about Simon's past. Don't get me wrong, some of what they did show was good, but the flashbacks you get of Simon are few and far between, and while I did think the ending of the film was more interesting, I never really felt bought into it.

    The fake blood, the weird tentacles and the alien monster at the end were cool, but at a certain point I just couldn't buy it anymore. I think this film struggles quite a bit with the horror film. But at the same time, this film was made on such a tight budget. Constraints are going to exist. Like obviously it's easy for me to say a film like The Platform was better, but it didn't strive to do so much with so little. So it's kind of hard for me to feel that great about nitpicking this film too much, for what it was, it was an interesting two hour watch. But will I ever watch it again? I can't say I'm likely to, yet it was worth at least giving a shot.

Final Score: 50/100

    So where does that leave me? I'm not sure. About halfway through the movie I remember sending a message to a friend saying that I felt this movie would probably cap off around a 60 for me in my mind unless the plot really started to pick up. And it did, but my opinion of the film didn't particularly change. I guess this is one of those films where you appreciate it more than you actually enjoy the process of watching it if that makes sense. Which funnily enough is basically the conclusion I reached after reading Blood Meridian, make of that what you will. At the very least I hope it's success is a sign that we'll get more original movies at least, am I right?