Based on the video game by David Szymanski, Iron Lung (2026) is written & directed by Mark Fischbach. It stars Mark Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, Ella LaMont, Mick Lauer, Dave Pettitt, Holt Boggs, Kazuki Jalal, and Alanah Pearce. The film follows a convict (Fischbach) forced to explore a mysterious ocean of blood in a post-apocalyptic world using an old, damaged submarine named “The Iron Lung.” As this perilous mission pushes him to the brink of insanity, the unnamed convict begins to uncover secrets that force him to question the nature of his surroundings. Scrambling to find safety, the convict realizes that it’s only a matter of time before he runs out of air…
Though most of my generation knows him as the legendary YouTuber Markiplier, I rarely watched his videos growing up. For myself, he’s not the mythical, endlessly lovable creator he is to many of my peers. I’m not saying I hold any ill will toward the man or his content, but I also don’t have the heavy, nostalgia-based bias many people my age seem to have. I’m one of the few who grew up with the guy and knew him, but never felt attached. I understand what this movie means to many people my age, but I’m capable of seeing it from a mostly outside, neutral perspective. Also, I knew almost nothing about the video game it’s based on, other than that it’s part of the survival horror genre. Mark’s choice to work outside the Hollywood system and self-fund the entire production and release was incredibly risky, but the box office numbers confirm it paid off. This makes it a big win for anyone sick of Hollywood, but the film’s quality is a mixed bag. That being said, it mostly matches the production quality of a typical big-budget Hollywood release, which easily surpassed my middling expectations.
As the writer, director, and star, Fischbach shows promise, but makes clear missteps in all 3 roles. His commitment to faithfully (so I’m overwhelmingly told) adapting the source material is, on the one hand, admirable, especially in a world that for so long was allergic to doing so. On the other hand, much of what he tries to capture about the experience of playing a video game doesn’t always translate into a compelling film experience. Looking for clues, gathering equipment, and solving puzzles in silence is far more compelling than watching someone else do it. This is all well-shot and never something you’re unable to take seriously, but it’s painfully drawn out–filled with more than a few redundant scenes and mediocre story reveals. Fischbach seriously needed a tighter edit here. This seems kind of obvious when you consider the story’s inherent lack of environmental variety, which is only compounded by the fact that we follow one character. The only conflict here is between the convict and a mysterious AI, but it’s all too vague and drawn out to be truly compelling–-especially for more than 2 hours. Maybe a top-tier actor could’ve pulled it off, but definitely not Fischbach (whose performance is still better than expected, believe it or not).
Fischbach makes a lot of mistakes, but they’re the kind a great filmmaker can detect and avoid in future projects. His biggest problem here is that he stretches the material way too far. This could’ve been a great 95-minute film, but instead it mostly falls flat. The destination just isn’t worth the journey. That said, I would never describe it as an outright bad film. I’m glad it’s had some success, and I’m looking forward to what Fischbach does next. Hopefully he takes the next step.
Overall, Iron Lung is an ambitious, highly flawed production that should easily become a cult classic for die-hard video game nerds and loyal Markiplier fans. However, if you only like the concept and aren’t attached to the filmmaker or source material, you’ll probably be checking your watch. It has a lot of cool ideas, but the execution just isn’t present on a storytelling level. The technical aspects are great, but that’s about it. It deserves support, but it’s unfortunately pretty forgettable. C
