I'm going to ramble for a sec about something that is absolutely unrelated to anything at all but I can't stop thinking about it so I need to get the words out of my head.
I saw the Markiplier horror sci-fi film Iron Lung on Thursday. It was a good movie, certainly not the best movie I've ever seen but genuinely it blew me away in a way that no movie has for a long time.
First of all, as a designer, the entire design from the makeup/sfx choices, to the set, to the lighting, to the camera angle choices, was genuinely exceptional. There were so many little motifs and angles that kept catching my attention during the film and so many specific shots that stuck out in my mind because of how incredibly well composed they were.
The plot was a little muddy, and certain choices felt campier than the plot called for. There were occasional moments when I wanted it to be spookier (but also i really struggle to get scared by horror in general so I'm not sure I'm the best metric for how spooky it was.) It was certainly unsettling, and points of it absolutely kept me at the edge of my seat with tension.
But regardless of all of that, regardless of how 'deserving' it is of the praise or critiques it is getting, I loved it for a completely separate reason.
I feel so so strongly that the best art produced is the art that is loved fiercely by everyone working on it. And SO much art produced today is made for money, or for fan service, or to try and maintain the relevance of a story that has long since been beaten into the ground.
I could tell that in every single moment of this movie, everyone working on it absolutely loved being there. And that made it a genuinely incredible movie to watch -- not a perfect polished 43 billion dollar film, but a good film. It was achingly human, and, I don't know.
I truly wasn't anticipating that from a two hour bottle movie filled with 80,000 (!) gallons of blood.
I went to see it with the expectation that I would have fun, and enjoy watching a youtuber that I like make an entirely mediocre movie -- on par with lots of movies being made these days, not bad, not great, but fine. I dragged my girlfriend along with the promise that it might not be good but it would be at the very least entertaining (and there would be a pretty man on screen for two hours).
In reality, we both left the theater and have been talking about that film for two solid days. It wasn't life-changing, it didn't alter how I think about the world. But it reminded why I have always loved independent art SO much. I love a AAA game, don't get me wrong. But indie games have always been my favorite, because they are made with a kind of passion and love for the incredibly human act of creation, that I think gets lost sometimes in mainstream media.
So anyway. Go see Iron Lung, its a good movie. Its good art. And right now, good art is something I need more of to stay afloat.
