On Apr. 21, 2023, popular YouTuber Mark Fischbach, well known as “Markiplier,” announced the production of a movie he and his studio would be creating. This movie would be called “Iron Lung” and was presented as a formidable challenge for Fischbach since he had no experience in movie production. 

After almost three years of work, “Iron Lung” was released on Jan. 30, 2026. However, despite the high anticipation from Fischbach’s fans, while it wasn’t an entire dumpster fire, the movie was not a Hollywood masterpiece either.

“Iron Lung” starts by introducing us to the main character, Simon (played by Fischbach), who is a convict in the far future. Simon was convicted under the blame of destroying a space station and was given a deal: if he completes a mission that involves gathering samples, he’ll be released. Thus, he is sent to pilot a claustrophobic submarine nicknamed the “Iron Lung” and is told to explore the oceans of a moon that is said to be filled with blood.

After collecting a sample and nearly obliterating someone with the X-ray camera on the submarine (since the blood ocean wasn’t transparent), a mysterious creature suddenly collides with the Iron Lung, and Simon is knocked unconscious. The submarine is sent off course, and Simon is forced to try to reconnect with central command by wandering aimlessly in the ocean of an alien planet, while at the same time losing his mind and hallucinating.

Eventually, after losing consciousness, he wakes up hearing that central command managed to reconnect with the Iron Lung, explaining that he was gone for several days, much longer than the oxygen supply intended to last him. When Simon mentions that he saw a wrecked submarine in his noble journey of wandering aimlessly, the commander is suddenly interested and informs him to get to the submarine and retrieve the black box within it at all costs.

When Simon obtains it, the commander breaks the news that they cannot save Simon, but she explains that the black box is vital and Simon must protect it. Eventually, as the submarine starts to flood with blood, it is attacked by a creature. Simon attaches the black box to a lifejacket to try to save it. The submarine implodes, killing Simon, although the black box survives and is shown floating on the blood ocean’s surface, ending the movie there.

The movie’s plot is particularly good and unique – there’s no complaint there. However, the execution was simply badly placed, and it was difficult to understand any of the plot without being confused, not to mention that the context was incredibly shallow and barely explained.

In addition, the acting wasn’t the greatest. It seemed overly dramatic; however, Simon’s descent into insanity was done very well. On another note, it seemed like in the movie, it was every character’s goal to say at least twenty curse words every three nano seconds – in other words, the cursing was overdone and unnatural.

However, the best aspect of the movie was the special effects, which were done amazingly. The scene where the submarine starts to flood looked incredibly cool and alien-like, not to mention the hallucination scenes were done very well. The scenes where Simon seems to get an infection from the blood are also impressive, making you feel grossed out and uncomfortable, which is definitely what they were aiming for.

In conclusion, the movie was a bit of a disappointment. While it was still impressive in terms of special effects and the plot, the acting and execution were simply not good. Overall, the movie gets a personal rating of a 4/10. So, should you go and watch it? Honestly, it depends on whether you’re interested or not, but at the end of the day, it’s better to at least give it a try.