Return to Silent Hill –

Return to Silent Hill is the third movie based on the video game franchise Silent Hill. This one takes inspiration from Silent Hill 2 and is from the director of the first movie. The movie is a psychological horror about James who goes to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife. Silent Hill 2 stands as one of the most critically acclaimed horror games of all time due to its story and themes. While the movies are not as praised, a good chunk of audiences showed appreciation for the first Silent Hill for its faithful representation of Silent Hill and visual cinematography. The third film doesn’t do the game justice. Return to Silent Hill has one-to-one matched scenes from the game, but without the understanding of the meaning behind the scenes, it loses its impressiveness. The biggest example is issues with the main character James. In the game he is an ordinary person on the outside, but troubled on the inside. In the movie he is an artist who wears all black leather and smokes in his sports car. That does not fit the vibe of the original character. This continues for the whole movie. It also does not look as good as the first movie. The first movie came out in 2006 and had a budget of $50 million. This third installment came out 20 years later and not only has a lower budget of $23 million, (just barely more than Silent Hill: Revelations with $20 million) but it uses too much CGI, making the movie look cheaper. I would recommend playing the 2024 remake of Silent Hill 2 video game over watching this movie.

Send Help –

From director Sam Raimi comes a horror movie that can only be described as a mix of Cast Away and Misery. It follows Linda Liddle as she goes on a business trip with her boss who is not treating her fairly. Their plane crashes near an island leaving them being the only survivors. They then must survive on the island and work together. As stated before, the film is directed by Raimi who directed The Evil Dead Trilogy, The Spider-Man Trilogy and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If you know anything about him, you know his films are very campy and very intense. This one is no exception. It takes many twists and turns, going in directions you might find in a comedy between the two characters, while also having many intense and gory moments that are hard to watch.  The characters have major flaws as individuals, and while you may hate both characters at points in the film, you can’t help but feel bad for them, and by the end, you don’t know who to root for. The only hiccup is that the film feels like it forgets that it is a horror movie for long stretches of time. Other than that, this is a very fun movie to watch especially if you are a fan of Raimi and the quirks he builds into his movies. I would highly recommend it.

Iron Lung –

Iron Lung is a movie by YouTuber Mark Fischbach, better known as Markiplier, based on the video game Iron Lung made by David Szymanski. The story takes place in a world where all the stars and planets disappear from the universe, leaving only a few remaining space stations to survive. The plot follows a convict who is sent to the bottom of an ocean of blood on a moon to scavenge for anything of potential use after an event called, “The Quiet Rapture.” The convict’s mission is to take pictures and find anything to save the human race. This is a passion project starring, funded,
written and directed by Markiplier. YouTuber-made movies aren’t new, but tend to be hit or miss. A good example are the Raka Raka Brothers making both Talk to Me and Bring Her Back. They were both critically acclaimed horror films that pushed the boundaries of horror. Although recently there was Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks that was met with mixed to negative reviews for being too formulaic. Where does Iron Lung fall? I say it is a success with some flaws that stops it from being perfect. To start the film is a $3 million passion project that stays in one location 99% of the time. It could easily be boring and a slog to get through but the film finds ways to film creative scenes within the submarine setting. The acting from Markiplier is very good, and the film has a very intriguing premise and delves into H.P. Lovecraft horror. Where the movie hiccups a bit is the dialog and runtime. There are times where others are talking to the main character and you can barely make out the muffled, yet important, dialogue. There are moments when the movie’s 2 hours and 7 minutes long runtime feels long and I can see places where it could have been trimmed. Despite these flaws, the film finds its footing and stands apart from other films as a solid horror project. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Lovecraftian horror or fans of Markiplier.