My quick rating - 4.9/10. Iron Lung has one of those concepts that immediately sells itself. In a future where all the stars and habitable planets have mysteriously vanished during an event known as The Quiet Rapture, humanity discovers an ocean of blood beneath the surface of a moon. Naturally, the brilliant minds in charge decide the best course of action is to stuff a convict into an experimental submarine and send him down there to investigate. Something. Nobody seems entirely sure what that something is, which I would think is a minor detail you might want to nail down before launching someone into a cosmic nightmare.
The film opens with a deep, ominous narration explaining humanity's grim situation before introducing Simon (Mark Fischbach), an inmate who quickly learns he is considered highly expendable. With so few people left alive, apparently "high-risk mission" and "certain death sentence" have become interchangeable terms. His only real contact is Ava (voiced by Caroline Kaplan), who calmly reminds him that humanity doesn't exactly have the luxury of caution anymore. Comforting stuff.
For most of the movie, we essentially get a one-man show, and Fischbach does a solid job. The setup is fantastic. The atmosphere is undeniably creepy. And I do like the idea of being trapped inside a claustrophobic metal coffin while strange alien entities lurk outside. Genuinely unsettling. The problem isn't the performance. The problem is that there simply isn't enough story here to support a full-length feature.
I haven't played the game this is based on, but if this is a faithful adaptation, dude, add a bit more story before stretching it to 125 minutes. There are only so many shots of somebody sitting anxiously inside a submarine before you start checking how much runtime remains. The answer is usually "more than I'd like."
To the film's credit, the sense of dread works. A blood-red ocean, strange noises, disturbing sightings, and the constant feeling that Simon is not alone create an interesting bit of sci-fi horror. It's different, and that's something I can appreciate. I just believe it thinks it's saying something profound, but it's mostly just vague. There's a difference between mystery and withholding information. Iron Lung often lands on the wrong side of that line.
The production did break the world record for most fake blood used in a film, surpassing the 50,000 gallons used in the 2013 Evil Dead remake with a staggering 80,000 gallons. Ironically, much of that blood is hidden in darkness or looks obviously fake when visible. Director Fede Álvarez managed to do far more with less in Evil Dead. At this point, they may as well have flooded the entire submarine and let Simon spend two hours swimming.
There's plenty of ambition on display here, and I can appreciate that. Concept? Excellent. Setting? Interesting enough. And Fischbach gives a solid effort. Unfortunately, Iron Lung feels like a short story stretched well beyond its limits. What works as a mysterious game doesn't necessarily work as a feature-length film. Lots of atmosphere. Lots of blood. But not nearly enough story to fill the tank.
Fans of the game will probably spend their time connecting dots and filling in gaps. Everyone else is left piecing together fragments and hoping the movie eventually decides to explain itself. It never really does.
No comments:
Post a Comment