Is there anybody out there?

FILM REVIEWS SACHIN CHATTE

Film: Iron Lung

Cast: Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach

Directed by: Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach

Duration: 2 hours 5 minutes

Rating: * *

On one hand, there is something admirable about Iron Lung—a video game turned into a feature film, acted in and directed by Mark Fischbach, who is something of a sensation on YouTube and goes by the name “Markiplier.” In many ways, it is a one-man show. On the other hand, it is also a very frustrating experience. The entire film features only him inside a rickety spaceship, and after the second or third line of dialogue, I found it difficult to remain invested in what was unfolding on screen, even though I tried several times afterward to engage with it again. Given that the film essentially revolves around a single character and runs for well over two hours, there were ample opportunities to give it another chance—but they didn’t quite succeed.

Fischbach manages to get the mood and atmosphere right, but that alone is not enough to sustain a film of this length. At the beginning, a voiceover informs us that a mysterious event known as the “Quiet Rapture” has caused all planets and stars to vanish. Only those floating in spaceships or space stations have survived. Simon (Fischbach) is a convict accused of destroying a space station, and he awakens aboard the aforementioned, not-so-modern spaceship called the Iron Lung, which is travelling through an ocean of blood. We are never quite sure what exactly he is doing with the equipment around him, though he frequently draws arrows on a map and makes calculations that we, as the audience, remain largely oblivious to.

He is entirely alone. Occasionally, a voice crackles through the speaker, instructing him to retrieve a sample, after which he will supposedly be “freed.” It is an offer he cannot refuse. He cannot even see outside the spaceship, except through a camera that produces still images from the exterior. If you expect some excitement or revelation as the mission progresses, you might be disappointed. The camera never leaves the spaceship, and the frame rarely leaves the protagonist.

The film loosely reminded me of Duncan Jones’ far superior Moon (2009), and, in some ways, the more recent Mickey 17 (2025), though the latter at least had the benefit of a larger world and more narrative movement.

Given its very thin premise, Iron Lung is executed quite impressively in terms of cinematography and editing. It clearly attempts to compensate for the lack of narrative momentum through inventive camera angles and sharp cuts. For brief moments, you do feel for the protagonist and his predicament, but that emotional engagement never quite sustains itself for long.

As an actor, Fischbach carries the film squarely on his shoulders, and that in itself is no small achievement. Yet one cannot help but feel that the material might have worked better as a shorter film—or perhaps, even more effectively, as a tightly constructed short.