Seán Brereton Hurley looks at Mark Edward Fischbach's dark debut feature.
In today’s widening media landscape, content creators on social media vie with traditional media corporations for a diversifying audience. In this context, an American YouTube star, Mark Edward Fischbach, who has nearly 40 million subscribers, has released his first feature film.
Iron Lung is a modern psycho-thriller based on an indie horror game of the same name made by David Szymanski. The film is set in a dystopian future after the ‘quiet reckoning’, an event which saw the destruction of all planets and stars in the galaxy. The last of the human population live on space stations. Following the global destruction, ‘Blood Moons’ appear, which are moons covered in deep oceans of blood and nothing else. Protagonist Simon the Butcher (Mark Fischbach) is a convicted war criminal. As punishment for his crimes, Simon is sealed into the SM-13, a submarine, where he struggles to earn his freedom and try to make sense of what he encounters under the bloody ocean.
A success at the box office, Iron Lung grossed over $50 million globally on a budget of only $3 million. However, it is not without flaws. At 132 minutes, its high-octane moments effectively convey fear as oxygen dwindles and heat and condensation intensify within the submarine. The pacing suffers from sluggish and confusing scenes, where long sections of screen time are spent messing with the map on the wall or just repeating the same motions to no avail.
Fischbach is Markiplier to his online fans and is best known for his Let’s Play gaming channel. He stays true to the source material in a sense, with this iteration of the narrative giving a new perspective of the game. This film expands on the world, picking up where the game ends. Even with the addition of a twist on the ending, there are enough similarities to satiate the pre-existing audience.
Quite impressive too, is how seamlessly Mark’s acting and directorial skills transfers to the big screen. Creating and producing high quality YouTube content since 2012 means that, Fischbach's Iron Lung was a strong first feature. Due to the large number of followers Mark amassed, the film was released to a loyal fanbase, some deeply devoted.
This production reflects a growing trend of filmmakers mining intellectual property from the indie horror game scene. Following the success of the Five Nights at Freddy’s adaptation, interest in the genre has surged, inspiring new fandoms in titles such as Bendy and the Ink Machine, Poppy Playtime and even Szymanski’s Iron Lung itself. This careful handling of a measured adaptation, entrepreneurial approach and compelling storytelling, means this film makes a strong case for plenty more down the line.
Iron Lung is in cinemas from 29th January 2026.
