Well, it is finally here, the moment we all have been waiting for. ‘Iron Lung’ has finally hit the theaters as of Jan. 30, and it would suffice to say that this release was considered the Big Kahuna of 2026. Why would it not be? A film produced and starred in by the massive YouTube sensation Mark Edward Fischbach (better known as Markiplier), adapting one of the scariest and most existential, dread-inducing games of this century: ‘Iron Lung’ by David Szymanski. On top of that, Fischbach had Szymanski work with him to create the movie. This was truly once in a lifetime, but now the question is: how was this masterstroke actually received by critics and fans alike?
Yeah, it was alright.
I confess, this film was not perfect. Who knew a film about a 30-minute long video game with a story straight out of ‘The Twilight Zone’ would not make the best 125-minute film? While it would be easy to sit and poke little holes in this independently made film, let’s at least look at this for the good that it does. As a note, for the sake of simplicity, I will be referring to Fischbach as his online username ‘Markiplier’.
First of all, the story of the movie is very similar to the video game. It takes place in the far future where humanity has traveled the universe and colonized distant worlds. All of a sudden, the stars begin to “go out” and take their colonies with them. This becomes known as “The Quiet Rapture,” and an organized group of spacefaring survivors—the Consolidation of Iron (C.O.I.)—sets out to solve the mystery of why the Rapture occurred and how to save humanity. This brings us to a convict named Simon, played by Markiplier, who is tasked by the C.O.I. to pilot a submersible through a sea of blood on a desolate moon in the hopes that he will uncover something that would save humanity from extinction. All the while, Simon is attempting to understand his situation, cope with his violent past and survive against whatever may be stalking him within the congealed blood ocean.
Now this film is stunning, technically and visually. It was shot using all practical effects on a budget of only $3 million. Somewhere in the ballpark of 80,000 gallons of blood were used in the creation of the “Blood Ocean.” There were fabulous, close-up shots of the rickety submarine and the sweat dribbling off Simon’s cheek. All very, very impressive.
That being said, I cannot say the same for its story. Sure, it’s good, but I have to agree with those who have professionally criticized this movie; this would have made a far better short film. The original game hardly exceeded an hour or so of gameplay, a little more if you’re the sort to take breaks, so it was definitely necessary to extend the runtime somehow. While some of the additions made to the lore of ‘Iron Lung’ were interesting and at times thought-provoking, the longer run time and very faithful recreation of the gameplay loop made for quite a drab viewing experience.
The viewing experience overall was a mixed bag. First of all, this film is obscenely dark. Strain your eyes kind of dark. You cannot make out much of the stunning details in this movie because the lighting is so dim you can point at the screen and ask, “Is that his face or his shoe?” Sometimes, Markiplier is moving so quickly through the shots that you can’t read any of the print or words written on important plot items. Sometimes you can’t even tell that someone is talking in this film because they’re speaking so low that they are practically mumbling their lines. Other times, the actors are screaming their lines and the audio mixing is such a blender of sounds that you cannot make out a single word, no matter how hard you try.
The movie also has a very clear underlying message to it, and it was present in the game as well. This idea of existential hopelessness, the smallness of humanity that we will be forever powerless to stem the tide, to keep our heads above water in the infinite sea of the cosmos.
Simply because the film was made by your favorite person and was made “independently” of any major studio does not excuse it or raise it above the unwavering eyes of film critics. Perhaps it will be remembered far more fondly than ‘Smosh the Movie’ or ‘Fred the Movie’ and other YouTuber films, but with any hope, it will also be remembered for its flaws and how those flaws influenced them to improve the next project.
