Indie sci-fi horror film Iron Lung has been perhaps the biggest cinematic surprise of 2026. Independently produced, financed, and starring internet sensation Mark Edward Fischbach, better known as YouTuber Markiplier. Iron Lung has had a brilliant run so far in cinemas worldwide.
With a fanbase of 38 million, Fischbach has had a long passion for creative endeavours. Gaining most of his success from ‘Let’s Play’ style videos, the star has deep emotional ties to the horror genre. Prior to directing Iron Lung, Fischbach directed a myriad of different YouTube series, such as Emmy nominated ‘In Space with Markiplier’. In an interview with Deadline, he reflected on his journey, “I had a health incident and sitting in the hospital, I had to do something. I felt a need to search out inspiration. And I found inspiration in some YouTube channels that were making some really cool things, visual effects-based things. And I didn’t even know people could do that, especially on their own, not as part of a movie or show. I just started where I could.”
Indie sci-fi horror film Iron Lung has been perhaps the biggest cinematic surprise of 2026.
Based on the 2022 cosmic horror game developed by David Szymanski, Iron Lung is set in a bleak future, in which many of the universe’s stars and planets have disappeared in a cosmic event named ‘The Quiet Rapture’. Humanity’s only hope lies in exploring one of the few moons left, which just so happens to be covered in an ocean of blood. Fischbach stars as Simon, a convict enlisted to undergo this task, by being submerged in the blood in a cramped, leaky, iron submarine. The film depicts Simon’s attempts to explore this dystopian setting and escape, while recording a slow descent into psychological horror.
The film was originally intended to be shown in fifty theatres across the US, a vast underestimation of Fischbach’s popularity, and the film’s soon-to-be success. In reality, Iron Lung was shown in over 4,000 theatres worldwide and topped the box office on its opening weekend, grossing over $30 million. Fans of the internet heavyweight began to call up theatres, demanding the film’s screening. Reflecting on this, Fischbach commented “All these theatres were inundated with emails and phone calls and people showing up physically. That was enough for them to see, combined with other theatres selling out that, ‘Hey, if they’re booking theatres or booking seats, I want to make money too'”.
In a YouTube livestream, titled “ACTUAL EMERGENCY MEETING!!”, the star gave a down-to-earth emotional response to the film’s success: “I’m tearing up at the beginning of this. […] It’s been a bit of an emotional day in the best way possible. So, I’ll first say, thank you guys so much.” During Iron Lung’s creation, Fischbach remained honest and communicative with his fan base, sharing fun stories of the set and hilarious tales of technological difficulties. Fans have seen the film develop alongside its director, with this refreshing honesty and immersion perhaps contributing to its success.
Fischbach has received many critiques on Iron Lung’s pacing, with IGN reporting that “Iron Lung has terrible pacing and very low energy from the start”. While the film does feel long and convoluted, I believe it serves a purpose – immersion. The protagonist’s descent into an ocean of blood is confusing, slow and suffocating; it’s only fair that the film makes its audience feel the same way. Just like Simon, we are trapped, forced to bear witness to the haunting, claustrophobic terrors of the iron coffin.
The set design is brilliant in heightening this tension. We are submerged in a world of murky darkness, 90’s sci-fi style technology, and 300,000 litres of fake blood. Excitedly trying to break the world record previously set by Evil Dead (2013), Fischbach commented, “We knew we were going to need lots of blood”.
Composer Andrew Hulshult’s ominous score, which took sounds from the set and even utilised Fischbach’s recorded lines, provides a brilliantly eerie, industrial sound. “And I would feed in all of those sounds into granular synthesis,” Hulshult told TechRaptor in an interview, “and just mess with them until I found something that sounded like a note that I enjoyed, but still sounded like, you know, metal or a sub or Mark’s voice. And then I would just use it, and it kind of became like a little bit of a meme where I was like, I’m going to go home and write music with this metallic sh*tty orchestra for this film, is what we always say.”
Despite pretentious critiques from industry heavyweights, Iron Lung did receive strong word of mouth. Space commented that Fischbach achieved the “rare trick of capturing indie magic without the help of Hollywood cash or distribution”, and fans worldwide adored the film. At the screening I attended, the audience was buzzing with anticipation, with many fans dressed up in support of Fischbach. Following the screening, all I heard was glowing praise and discussion from fans, and this is reflected on social media.
With its independent production and low budget, Iron Lung breathes passion and creativity, refreshingly reminiscent of grindhouse-style horror. Amongst its competitors, Iron Lung is a breath of fresh air – a unique, eerie stand-out film in a bloody sea of tired sequels, pre-existing tropes, and Disney cop-outs.
