Caroline Kaplan, horror, Iron Lung, Mark Fischbach, Markiplier, movies, reviews, sci-fi, science fiction
January 30, 2026
by Carla Hay
Directed by Mark Fischbach
Culture Representation: Taking place in outer space, the sci-fi horror film “Iron Lung” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Asians) portraying people in an apocalyptic unnamed planet.
Culture Clash: A prisoner is trapped in a submarine nicknamed Iron Lung and is ordered to do various tasks on an unnamed planet where the ocean is blood.
Culture Audience: “Iron Lung” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star/writer/director Mark Fischbach (also known as YouTube personality Markiplier) and monotonous horror movies where one character gets the vast majority of the screen time.
Incoherent and relentlessly dull, “Iron Lung” (written by, directed by, and starring Mark Fischbach, also known as YouTube personality Markiplier) is a misguided horror movie based on the video game. When will social media stars learn that on-camera fame doesn’t equal filmmaking talent? It might be why this awful and forgettable film was released through Markiplier Studios, the independent company founded by Fischbach, because it’s hard to imagine any other studio would want to release this dreadful dud.
Fischbach is also a film editor of “Iron Lung,” which plods along at such a dull pace, with not much happening for long stretches of the movie, it’s more likely to cause viewers to feel sleepy instead of feeling scared. The “Iron Lung” movie takes the same concept of the “Iron Lung” video game and makes it into a vanity film project, where Fischbach makes sure there are plenty of closeups of his face, which usually has a blank or confused expression.
Just like in the “Iron Lung” video game, the “Iron Lung” movie is about a prisoner who is stuck in a small rusty submarine (nicknamed Iron Lung) on an unnamed planet, where he is submerged in an ocean of blood. He is tasked with exploring what’s outside the submarine. In the video game, this character doesn’t have a proper name and is just called The Convict. In the movie, this prisoner (played by Fischbach) eventually reveals that his name is Simon.
The beginning of the movie has a voiceover from Simon explaining that there’s been an apocalypse. He’s been forced to work on this submarine to find something, but he hasn’t been told what he’s supposed to find for a very long part of the movie. A woman, whose name is eventually revealed as Ava (played by Caroline Kaplan), keeps barking orders to Simon over an intercom system. Ava isn’t seen on screen for most of the movie, but she does show up on screen for a few scenes.
About 80% of the movie consists of Simon being alone and talking to Ava, himself, or a few other people who randomly show up outside of the submarine. Expect to hear Simon shout repeatedly that he doesn’t know what to do. “Iron Lung” gets repetitive with Simon getting frustrated and annoyed about wasting time and not knowing what he’s doing there. After a while, viewers of this horrible movie will feel the same way.
There’s some nonsense about Simon collecting samples, taking photos of dead people, and finding a hand-written note that says he should tie some wires together. There’s a lot of arguing between Simon and Ava, who keeps dangling the promise that Simon will be set free if he does what she says. And there’s even more long-winded ridiculousness where Simon is hunched over in a chair and trying to look productive, when he’s really not doing anything helpful to himself or anyone else at all.
“Iron Lung” has fairly good cinematography from Philip Roy and an effective horror music score from Andrew Hulshult. The movie’s main color palettes are murky dark brown and blood red. The problem is that the movie’s suspenseful musical tone and spooky look are mismatches to the tediousness of the story.
The movie’s acting performances are mediocre-to-awful and do nothing to bring any spark or personality to this soulless film. The ending of “Iron Lung” is very abrupt and disappointing. Fans of the “Iron Lung” video game are better off playing the video game, which is infinitely more imaginative than this turgid mess of a movie.
Markiplier Studios released “Iron Lung” in U.S. cinemas on January 30, 2026.