[Media Talk] Iron Lung Film Discussion
31 January 2026
Iron Lung—Less is More
Hiya all, welcome back! Last night I went and saw the Iron Lung film adaptation with some friends as a celebration for one of their birthdays. I do have some thoughts to share about the film and my experience watching it, but I don't think I'd call what I'm about to write any sort of "overview" or "review" or anything. Think of it as just my thoughts of the film. I don't plan on writing any comprehensive recap or summary of the plot, though I will try to give context to the major things I have to say. Without further introductions, allow me to begin by talking a little bit about what Iron Lung is.
What is Iron Lung?
Iron Lung (2022) is a short, atmospheric, "dread-driven" horror game by David Szymanski. The film adheres to the same setup as the game, so for the sake of simplicity, I will just introduce the game: The game sees the player assume the role of a convict taken into custody by the Consolidation of Iron, one of the last space-faring factions left in the universe after the "Quiet Rapture." The Quiet Rapture was an anomalous cosmic event in which all celestial bodies, such as stars, habitable planets, or anything that could hold usable natural resources for humanity, simply disappeared in an instant. The only survivors of the event were those who happened to be off-planet on some manner of space station at the time of the Quiet Rapture.
You are a prisoner of the Consolidation of Iron, currently enrolled in their "conviction realization" program. You are tasked with navigating the floor of a trench in an ocean of blood on the moon AT-5, discovered after the Quiet Rapture. Because of the depth of the trench and the density of the ocean of blood, the submarine you are using to navigate the ocean must be welded shut after you enter for stability. The porthole window of the submarine is covered with a sheet of steel, and your only tools for navigation are a map you are given, your submarine's coordinate systems, and an X-ray camera on the other side of the submarine that you can only use oh-so-often. Head to the coordinates the Consolidation gives you, take photos of what's there, and you will earn your freedom as a re-educated member of the Consolidation of Iron. But it quickly becomes clear that the mission will not be as simple as that. Oxygen is limited, the submarine's equipment is prone to failure and fire, and there is something in the blood ocean of AT-5 with you.
Vulnerability and the Unknown
The game and the film both demonstrate the same excellent vision of horror: a precisely calculated combination of claustrophobia, sensory deprivation, isolation, and vulnerability. The entire game and film (with the exception of flashbacks and hallucinations in the film's case) take place entirely within the research submarine, the titular Iron Lung. With no consistent vision of where you are, where you are going, and what is around you, you must put faith in the submarine's equipment to navigate you across the trench floor. Only brief glimpses of what may be outside of the submarine are given via grainy, low-resolution X-ray photos. Only glimpses of what's truly out there can be caught, and as both media continue, what glimpses you can catch only become more unsettling.
This vision of horror really works for me. In the ways that I consume media, I don't find myself being viscerally "scared" by films, books, or video games while I am consuming them. The essence of compelling horror fiction for me is the cultivation of an ominous and immersive vibe. The choice to have the entirety of Iron Lung take place inside of one primarily static room for the entire duration, only giving you little pieces of information of what's around you, plays to the highest strength of this genre of horror—the fear of the unknown.
What is scary about Iron Lung, both versions, really isn't the explicit imagery that is shown to you. The true horror of Iron Lung is what's going on in your own head. With such limited tools to visualize the space around you and what inhabits it, you have to try your hardest to fill in the gaps with your own imagination. This, in my experience, is the most terrifying thing that a piece of horror media can provide. Allowing you to project your own fears into the situation, or just allowing you to be scared because you don't know what's going on at all, it's enthralling. It's one of the few types of horror that... I wouldn't say "gets to me" as much as I would say "gets me thinking," and the questions that something like Iron Lung poses are the kinds of things that I like to really sit down and consider.
The film, especially towards the second half, features heavy eldritch and cosmic-horror themes. The game touched on this, though mostly in the background. In the film, these elements are much more present and visible. I don't have much to say about these themes; I believe the reveal of them is something that I'd like to spoil as little as possible before people have the chance to see the film. I can just say that I was a fan of how that plot thread was handled.
Everything That Can Go Wrong Will
The main benefit of a film adaptation is the opportunity to take a silent "nothing" character and give them a personality and active role in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the portrayal of the protagonist in the Iron Lung film and think that he adds a lot to the experience. Due to the stakes of what's at play in the film, especially after the first encounter with a living creature within the blood ocean, the protagonist goes on to make every wrong decision possible. In the heat of the moment, with one of the most terrifying deaths imaginable at stake, I can't blame him for taking any actions that he did. Doubly so if his pleas of innocence are to be believed. It's engaging to watch a broken man crumble under the weight of his circumstances until the moment he breaks and has to choose to sink or swim. That journey is what made my first experiences with Berserk and Chainsaw Man so engaging, and this movie is no exception.
The Importance of Independent Media
I think that we are at a pivotal period, now more than ever, when it comes to the way media is produced and consumed. As more corporate mergers happen, and power over media and media production is consolidated, the effects of that are felt in the media we consume. Most big-name, big-budget media in the film, TV, and video game spaces are increasingly, year after year, stagnating. Anything with a strong vision and identity is softened, rounded, and smoothed out into something more palatable for the general audience. Why wouldn't it be? With game and film budgets in the hundreds of millions, a billion even (if information regarding Grand Theft Auto VI's development is to be believed), it's too risky to let passionate individuals or teams with a shared, specific vision just make what they want to. Hard edges and points of friction aren't always just poor design; they can be part of the experience. Anyone who has played and enjoyed an older-generation Monster Hunter game can attest to this. The game has a very specific vision for its combat, and if you play by its rules, it is an extraordinarily fun time. If you don't, then you'll probably face some friction until you get funneled into the primary pipeline. If you don't find the pipeline, you'll probably bounce off. That's not a bad thing.
Iron Lung as a game is an example of a game by a talented, passionate individual that aims to do one thing very well, and it succeeds. The film, though it had a larger budget and more hands on it thanks to the nature of film production, was still primarily funded, written, and directed by the core duo of the game's creator and the YouTuber Markiplier. I don't think that Iron Lung is the best movie ever made. It was engaging, and nothing really took me out of the experience, but it wasn't flawless. The delivery of some of the lines from the protagonist felt a little off at times, and the pacing and delivery of the narrative weren't perfect. However, the film has one primary thing that it's trying to do, and it does it very, VERY well.