YouTube Star Finds Bloody Success With Iron Lung (OP/ED)

(image via IMDB)

The long-awaited horror film Iron Lung was released on January 30, 2026, to great acclaim. Starring, financed by, written, directed, and self-distributed by famed YouTube star Markiplier, the film saw massive success at the box office, a clear indication of the power of a dedicated fanbase.
by Emery Brown and Beckett DeWitt

An adaptation of David Szymanski’s 2022 game of the same name, the film takes place in a distant, apocalyptic future following an event known as “The Quiet Rapture,” which saw the inexplicable vanishing of all stars and habitable planets. It stars a convict by the name of Simon, portrayed by Markiplier (real name Mark Edward Fischbach), who is tasked with exploring an ocean of blood on a distant moon via a miniature submersible dubbed the Iron Lung, according to IMDb.
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In the short time since the film’s release, it has earned $44 million worldwide, smashing its $3 million budget, which was entirely financed by Fischbach himself (Box Office Mojo). Additionally, the film was positively received, gaining a 61% critic score and an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly enough, the film has gone down in history for having used the most fake blood of any movie, totaling over 80,000 gallons, as revealed on the Markiplier YouTube channel.
Fischbach credits his large and dedicated audience to Iron Lung’s success.

In an interview with Deadline, he stated: “I didn’t spend anything really on marketing. There was no video campaign. There were no buying ads. . . I’m very fortunate. I have a large fan base. It’s a fan base I built up from nothing, so I have a very personal relationship that I’ve grown over 14 years. . . A benefit of YouTube is that if you build a community, you have access to this audience. But it’s not just a numbers thing, it is a relationship.”

(image via IMDB)

​VIRIDIAN Staffer Beckett DeWitt’s Thoughts on Iron Lung (Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
The movie was extremely well done for an independent film that was entirely directed, written, and produced by Fischbach himself. For a movie with only one setting and practically only one character on screen for the full two-hour runtime, it didn’t drag at all for the most part, only being a bit slow in the first 30 minutes.

My only real complaint about the movie was that the exposition was not clear, with details before the story being brought up, only to not be explained. Some of this confusion may be human error, though; I do find it hard to focus sometimes, so important details tend to slip away. This barely affected my enjoyment of the movie, however.

One of the most unnerving parts of the movie was when Simon took the picture of the fish skeleton—not because of the skeleton itself, but because it was revealed later on that the camera used to take a picture of the skeleton was an X-ray camera. Later on, when Simon had to rip his arm off to get out of the bloody flesh things that were wrapped around him, I felt sick, but in a good way, like a horror movie like this is supposed to make you feel.

I was a little surprised by the sudden end of the movie. Somehow, I really thought Simon was going to make it out of his situation alive. The movie ended so suddenly with the big fish monster biting down on his submersible and killing him. I guess that made the whole thing so much more jarring.

This movie felt confusing and disorienting at times, but that only made it more immersive, like you’re getting into Simon’s mind and feeling the same confusion he feels. Iron Lung was a great movie, and I really recommend it to anyone who thinks they can handle it.