Charming, or rather horrifying, players within a sinister premise, the 2022 horror simulation game “Iron Lung,” developed by David Szymanski, has captured fans since its release. Its adaptation, a passion project of Mark Edward Fischbach, better known as the popular gaming YouTuber “Markiplier,” “Iron Lung (2026)” is a fully self-funded indie movie. With a budget of only $3 million, the film has managed to make upwards of $50 million, competing directly with big studio horror films such as 20th Century Fox’s “Send Help.”
Although many are quick to chalk this success purely to Fischbach’s loyal audience of supporters, the film is an impressive work of love and clever filming decisions that make the most of its limited budget. The film’s slow beginning is rightfully critiqued, yet also not as terribly boring as many make it out to be. Packing worldbuilding and plot into its two hours of runtime, “Iron Lung” accurately portrays the true gameplay of its source, with Fischbach working closely with creator Szymanski to bring the suffocating, high-anxiety atmosphere to life.
“Iron Lung” is much less of a traditional horror or thriller film in terms of jump scares and action. The terror aspect comes from the brutal atmosphere it evokes. Simon (Fischbach) is a convict dispatched into the blood ocean of AT-5, an uncharted moon, in a hulk-like submersible, an “Iron Lung,” to catalogue locations within the ocean. In exchange for his freedom, Simon works for the Consolidation of Iron (C.O.I.), a shady organization dedicated to prolonging humanity in a post-apocalyptic world. With blood, his past and Ava (Caroline Kaplan), his apathetic captain that periodically communicates, as company, the viewer is trapped in the cramped submarine with Simon as his situation becomes more and more dire.
Anything more would be a spoiler, as the film manages to take each second to give blink-and-you-will-miss-it details and crucial worldbuilding all in a tiny submarine. The camera work is tasteful and immersive, making up for the quality a larger budget would have allowed. The setting of a small submarine and murky blood all around plays in the movie’s favor, with close-up shots capturing the high-stakes environment.
The element that truly sells “Iron Lung,” though, is the soundtrack. Praised by both critics and fans alike, the sound design creates a dreadfully immersive experience of truly being trapped with no hope, right in the submarine with Simon. Composed by Andrew Hulshult, best known for his metal, first-person shooter work, such as “Doom Eternal.” “Iron Lung” could not have asked for a better sound designer, as Hulshult’s work cements the creaking metal, the impact of each forceful event and unsettling murk of blood into the viewer’s mind well out of the theatre.
Fischbach successfully separates his online persona from Simon as the lead, though it takes time for his acting to round out with the best performance seen later in the film. The film’s polarizing reception is seen with critics rating the film a 61% on the Tomatometer, while overall audiences rated it an 88% on the Popcornmeter. Though the film would do well to cut slower, emptier scenes in the beginning, the overly harsh consensus that the plot is leagues behind its production is unwarranted. The idea that “Iron Lung”’s lore is uneventful misses the original premise of the game, where the otherworldly events are slashed through with very human concepts of survival, and existential dread in a universe that seems to have no future.
Where the movie lacks in production quality and pacing, it makes up for it with its genuine storytelling and captivating setting. Fischbach’s love for the game and its elements is shown through his decisions that stay loyal to the source material and know where to differ. The film provides ample clarification and enough background to allow casual moviegoers to enjoy the film as a standalone. As “Iron Lung” makes its way through theatres and Fischbach plans its physical release on Blu-ray and DVD, it is safe to count “Iron Lung” as a successful debut and success for the indie movie genre as a whole.
