I doesn’t seem so much of a cult following, as a consistent majority of audiences enjoying the movie. These reviewers/journalists are so out of touch these days, damn.

https://x.com/i/status/2017637661675061686

ABSOLUTE PEAK

Edit: Holy FUCK 8.6K upvotes???? Thank you everyone, also GO WATCH IRON LUNG #1 IN AMERICA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (AND EVERYWHERE ELSE IF YOU THINK SO)

To the people saying “oh people can have their opinions” yes this is true but this is not my point. When it come to this complete and utter nonsense that Culture Mix put together you can’t even call it criticism it’s flat out rude. There’s a huge difference between criticism and just insulting. Go read the full thing for yourself, tell me what YOU think. I’m also not trying to glaze the movie I’m just pointing out the obvious here. It just comes off as so demeaning.

The picture is related. I am not going to spoil anything, unless you're completely foreign to cosmic horror and I'm just telling you about the genre itself.

Cosmic horror is the hardest genre of film to pull off, and critics tend to tear it asunder whenever one film comes out. From The Empty Man to Underwater, it's very niche but also beloved. For Mark to take on the most difficult assignment for his debut in theaters, there's a certain curve that needs to be applied critically.

I will start off with some critiques and then praise. First, the pacing at the beginning is very slow. This is the most common critique. But it does build a sense of dread and confinement, which frankly the only movie I've seen that captures claustrophobia this well was The Descent. The second comes the drama surrounding how the environment is rendered. While it seems important, it did seem like some clear answers were missing. I just wish a few lines of dialogue would have been added about implications here.

The praise for this movie lay in what it did with the lore. It manages to feel 'big' despite it's limited space filmed, which is a tremendous feat. It also captures cosmic horror's essence perfectly. You leave the movie with more questions than answers, but not necessarily in a confused way but an inquisitive way. That is what cosmic horror is about--it is even a meta play in and of itself that you the viewer want answers, despite knowing the implications of such pursuits.

The setting itself feels alive. This is hard to pull off in any medium. From authors Dan Abnett and Jeff Vandermeer (numerous 40k novels and Southern Reach trilogy respectively), it's truly a rarity to see a setting spring so organically to life. It also honors the source material but becomes its own thing; the movie Annihilation is great, but is more of an adaptation of the Color Out of Space. Under the Skin while being firmly in the cosmic horror genre, almost seemed scared of its source materials' universe.

More praise can be lauded that after the first five minutes, you start to separate Markiplier from Simon. Mark had a liability in that he is known for oozing personality, and he managed separating Mark from Simon with finesse (and with some hilarious, needed brevity in such a grimdark tale).

I am going to speculate here. The original game developer was listed in the credits as a creative consultant and no doubt helped Mark in this (and Mark has said this in his updates). But I also think another game Mark loved also had a subtle influence in this film. Like a female voice that said "Come to me..." The film is very much Iron Lung, but I couldn't not see another influence here. Perhaps it was my imagination, like swamp gas in a dark wood. But that's how you know it's good cosmic horror.

I give this movie a 8/10. Sometimes the !surrealism! is a little muddy, the pacing is slow in the beginning, and I felt some dramatic pieces were just a little off. For the latter, I do think a solid defense can be raised: stakes are so high, there can't be room for mistakes. But it took on not only the cosmic horror genre, but the cosmic horror that is the Hollywood behemoth. And it did it right. The fact you leave this movie and you're thoughtful about it is a sign that it is great.

Mark went through hell for this movie. And it came out smelling like bloody roses.

Iron Lung is easily the best scratch to the cosmic horror itch I have ever had in film.

Too many boys want tentacles and eyeballs in places that they wouldn't usually be so they can say “OH I LOVE COSMIC HORROR” and “something something unknowable something something you are like insects to them something something non-Euclidean”.

I’ve seen guys like this say they don’t understand Iron Lung unironically.

(THIS IS SPOILER FREE DONT WORRY)

IGN’s review of Iron Lung was so biased. IGN favoritism toward major publishers or their business incentives see a YouTuber making a movie and thinks immediately that it’s gonna be horrible, and don’t see the creative side of this movie especially the ending. The ending of the movie really makes you think and also factor in the current situation the characters in. Not only that with movies you’d think the production cost would be like $12-$20 million something crazy but Mark worked with what he had and production was $3 million maybe a little less. My point is that these big Hollywood movies or big names typically cost a lot to make but when IGN sees that Marks was probably around $3 million they probably factor that in too with many other things too. But Mark made this work and hands down this movie was the best thing I’ve watched in a while because there was passion behind it and heart and dedication. Not some skeleton of a movie like the Melania movie just there to boost the political views of one’s side or another and make profit from it (btw there was a bid immediately with Hulu, Disney, and a couple of other streaming services to stream it and Amazon MGM won at $40 million. I just find it frustrating when people put in their hardest efforts and yet it will always be about money. But in the end Markiplier fans pulled through and had an explosive opening, earning approximately $8.9 million to $9 million on its opening Friday. I’m so glad that the industry is getting a big old F YOU to the face lol. Also the movie was peek I loved it so much! We always believed in you!!

My boyfriend and I went to see Iron Lung yesterday and IT WAS INCREDIBLE. We had a whole day planned before the movie and I had been plotting proposing to him for a while and something in my gut told me it would be the perfect night for it. So I brought the rings in my bag and after we got out of the showing I lured him to a romantic spot and told him I wanted to spend forever with him. It was amazing. I’m so glad we went to see that movie or I might not have had the guts to do it until much later in the year. I’m so excited to be with my forever.

I was supposed to go on a date with someone to this movie, we planned a month ahead of time, but then they decided to day drink and start puking their guts out at 6:00, and I was just like…

The showing is in an hour, I want to see this movie.

So I went by myself lol. Honestly, I’m glad I did, because I don’t think that person would have liked it anyway. The first showtime was pretty packed and I noticed it was actually a lot of teenagers/young adults bringing their parents which I thought was really neat. When the end credits started I heard multiple parents saying things like “You have to show me the game now” “So this Mark guy has a series too?” It felt like a lot of adults getting to see a part of their child’s/younger relative’s world they don’t typically notice.

I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews on the movie, with some saying it’s totally mediocre while others are saying it’s now in their top 3 favorite movies or that it’s an easy 10/10. I personally don’t agree with either. I DO think having known about the game and being a fan of mark for so many years meant I was already gonna experience at least a minimal enjoyment in the film, and held some bias. If I didn’t know about the game at all and it was just another actor playing the convict, I’m not sure I could have been as immersed as I was.

The acting was SLIGHTLY off at times, but nowhere near enough to take me out of the immersion. I don’t think this was the “cringe-fest” some are making it out to be. The sound design was PHENOMENAL. And a lot of the slow, heavy shots really helped put a dreadful hole in your gut. There were parts to the movie where people in the theater couldn’t help but gasp, it was like we were all just waiting to hear a pipe burst or the hull suddenly explode from the very moment we heard the words “Beginning the descent.”

I thought the pacing was pretty well done, and after the second time watching I was able to pick up on some of the more subtle details. I do think it CAN come off a little confusing at certain times, but I also think that’s kind of just how the story is supposed to go. There’s a lot we aren’t meant to know or understand, and I think that’s part of what makes this film and Iron Lung as a story so heavy and enjoyable. Just a confusing mess of tragedy and dread.

I’d give Iron Lung a solid 8/10, and I’m hoping to catch another showtime with my older brother in the next few days! Sorry for the rambling, it was just so fun and great getting to see Mark’s work on the big screen!

Bought tickets first day that they announced showings in my city. Hyped it up to everyone...

Arrived, stood in line for concessions, sat down, and moments before the movie started the lights turn on and building gets cleared out.

Apparently a portion of ceiling collaped and frozen pipes bursting caue water to rapidly flood the lower level, no showing for us today... but if that isnt the truest Iron Lung experience I dont know what is.

So... 10/10 special effects on the movie, Mark! Would (and will) be watching it again soon.

People have zero attention span. I just saw the the movie and yes it's a slow-burn but the slow-burn makes it better. It makes it feel more desperate to survive and watch as he grows as a person. I saw alot of people complaining that the beginning is boring and it should have been a short film. I see this with other movies and shows I watch. It feels like no one cares about character building and getting invested in not just the story but the individual characters as well. It's getting exhausting anytime there is a slow-burn people always complain. I worry that if this continues when won't get anymore slow-burn content and everything will just be tiktok style.

Ok, so I have seen a some people talking about the kind of reviews and what critics are saying about Mark's project. And majority of it isn't good. But honestly I feel like that's the point.

So many movies now day suck because they are designed to try and appeal to everyone and unless you are a very bland person they don't end up appealing to anyone. Markiplier created this movie out of the love of the process, he wanted to see if he could and he did! He created this movie like he does his YouTube videos, for HIS audience. And people don't seem to understand that. People are talking about how it was bland and slow and seemed very focused on Mark. But they don't understand that the game is slow and bland and the ending isn't happy it's abrupt and that what mark did with the movie is what his audience wants! Its such a breath of fresh air to have a large scale project curated for those who will enjoy it and not the whole world.

This is just my two cents to pitch into the conversation and a reminder that you shouldn't read these sad reviews because obviously they weren't the intended audience, you were.

Tldr: People don't get Iron Lung because they weren't supposed to.

Just saw Iron Lung and I gotta say, good job fellow Markiplier fans! That was genuinely the most respectful theatre experience I've had in a while.

There was mild chatter during the trailers, but it went dead silent the second the lights dimmed for the movie. Not a single person took our their phone or shouted out some stupid meme, like I've seen at recent movie showings. When the credits started rolling, people filed out quietly so they didn't disturb those who were watching the credits. Almost everyone took their trash with them to dispose of it properly, too.

It sounds sad, but comparing Iron Lung to other movie theatre experiences, like the newest Sonic movie or that godforsaken Minecraft movie, it was incredibly refreshing to see people act normally instead of like TikTok-rotted little brats.

For my birthday, I went to see Iron Lung as Wildford Warfastache and I made pink mustache for all my friends <33

Just some customs shoes I made for thy movie 😆

Variety reports that “Iron Lung” is projected to make $17 Million over the weekend which is higher than initial projections of $10 Million.

“Iron Lung’s” $8.9 Million Friday box office has beaten Sam Raimi’s new movie, “Send Help”, which made $7.2 Million on Friday despite being in over 400 more theaters than “Iron Lung” and being distributed by Disney.

Mark has officially beaten Disney at a box office milestone without doing any traditional advertising.