Thoughts on Iron Lung (No Spoilers)
So I saw Iron Lung yesterday...
I'm gonna start off by saying that I'm not a movie reviewer. I just have a lot of thoughts about the movie! I'm also going to clarify that I haven't played the game myself, nor have I watched anyone play it. I'm a casual Markiplier fan at best, and I haven't really kept up with him since Unus Annus.
Now, about Iron Lung...
I think Iron Lung is an incredibly enjoyable experience, but I hesitate to call it a great movie. I never found myself feeling bored, despite the fact that I struggle to think of much that happened in it's two hour runtime. That's the point, really. I've seen people complain about the film being slow, and it is, but I don't see that as a downside. Again, it held my attention despite it's pace. It feels very intentional, like you too are just as isolated and confused as Simon is.
But at the same time, I feel like it's lacking something. I admire its refusal to sit down and over explain its own lore, but I also wish it had done just a little more explaining. I never felt so confused that it frustrated me, but I feel like it wanted to say more. I also get the sense that Simon's backstory is meant to make us more sympathetic towards him, that by hearing about his past we as the audience will think "Well fuck, he doesn't deserve this!" But I think Simon could've been anyone, and his story still would've been tragic. Nobody deserved to be put in his position, no matter the crime they're being accused of. Perhaps some part of me wanted that tragedy to run deeper, for us to truly know nothing about this man and what brought him here.
I think Iron Lung makes for a better experience than a film. I don't think its something I'll ever watch again, but I don't want that to make it seem like I didn't enjoy it. I truly did. I also think you can really feel that its Mark's directorial debut. I don't mean that in a disparaging way at all, I think Mark is incredibly talented, and he did incredible work on Iron Lung, I'm amazed it only sent him to the hospital once. Rather, I think Iron Lung shows a remarkable amount of potential from Mark! Given what I know about the source material, I think it was incredibly ambitious of him to adapt it to film, and I believe he did as much with it as anyone could. I hope he makes more films in the future, I really think he could make something incredible. Iron Lung might miss a few marks, but I still think Mark made something really enjoyable, so long as slow burn psychological horror works for you. Give it a watch if there's a theater near you showing it, I think its worth at least one viewing .