Cover Photo Credit: Markiplier, YouTube, Iron Lung: Final Trailer.
On January 30, 2026, Mark Fischbach, better known as Markiplier on YouTube, released his passion project and debut feature film, Iron Lung, based on David Szymanski’s 2022 Indie horror game of the same name. Fischbach personally funded and directed the project, an anomaly in the current filmmaking industry. The movie hit the world at a time when Netflix just acquired Warner Bros for 72 billion dollars, and the future of film as a whole is uncertain.
Iron Lung is set about 300 years in the future, where human civilization inhabits the cosmos. An unexplained event called The Quiet Rapture occurs, eradicating stars and all human life, with the exception of those not inhabiting a planet, leaving humanity fragmented. The movie centres around Fishbach’s character, Simon, a convict forced to search a moon with an ocean of blood to find answers. He comes to learn this expedition is a glorified execution.
The film had rather slow pacing at the beginning, but as it progressed, Fischbach implemented unique filmmaking techniques to divert viewers from boredom—since the majority of the film takes place in one location. Wide-angle cameras were mounted in multiple corners of the submarine to provide an effective, surveillance-like perspective. Rapid light flashes from an X-ray camera capable of penetrating the blood ocean produces unsettling lighting and imagery. The distinctive visuals create an immersive experience that masked the film’s monetary constraints.
Practical effects were instrumental to the creation of Iron Lung, giving the film an authentic feel most cannot attain. The submarine set was mounted on a hydraulic arm, allowing it to spin and shake at the will of the crew; Fischbach used over 80 thousand gallons of fake blood over the course of the movie, breaking the prior record of 70 thousand.
Iron Lung smashed box office expectations during its opening weekend, gaining $17.8 million in sales in spite of its $3 million production budget. Another film released the same day, Send Help, directed by Sam Raimi with a budget of $40 million, only grossed a little over half its production budget at the box office. At a time where every new movie is attached to a multimillion-dollar conglomerate, Fischbach’s film is a breath of fresh air; however, film buffs and Markiplier fans believe Hollywood is determined to minimize its success as much as possible.
On January 31st, 2026, Iron Lung was #1 on the Daily Domestic Chart, and then the next day mysteriously vanished, Send Help taking its place. Fischbach and his followers spoke up about this inequity, and the film was promptly reinstated on the chart on February 2nd, 2026. But why did this happen? Are Hollywood elites truly seething with jealousy? While this erasure very well could have just been a mechanics issue within the website, it is not wrong to consider the other possibilities—that unfair treatment may be taking place.
Comparable to Mark Fischbach is indie director and four-time Oscar-winner Sean Baker, most recognized for his work on The Florida Project in 2017, and Anora in 2024. Baker funded the majority of his films Four Letter Words, Tangerine, and Take Out’s production budgets, as well as making a conscious choice to stay independent, a powerful decision reflected in Fischbach’s recent feat.
To quote Baker’s speech from the Independent Spirit Awards:
“Some of us want to make personal films that are intended for theatrical release with subject matter that would never be greenlit by the big studios. We want complete artistic freedom and the freedom to cast who is right for the role, not who we’re forced to cast considering box office value…”
Buy tickets to Iron Lung at the Fredericton Cineplex: https://www.cineplex.com/search?q=iron+lung
