As much as I say I am a fairly big fan of horror, especially given my typical dark and gothic style, I’m actually not as big a fan of horror as one might assume. Not because I don’t like horror at all, quite the opposite, but because I much prefer psychological horror. Instead of high action and constant jump scares that scream at you, I much prefer the slow, dreadful feeling of a slow and suspenseful horror that messes with you and the characters within the media mentally.
That is exactly the reason why I absolutely love Iron Lung.
I will do this review with as few spoilers as possible. This for the people who are on the fence about watching it. This is your sign to watch it before it's taken off screens (or until it's available on a streaming platform).
Iron Lung is a 2026 film adaptation of the submarine simulation horror game developed in 2022 by David Szymanski. Markiplier played his first playthrough of Iron Lung on May 19th, 2022, a few months after its release. When Markiplier realized that this concept could potentially be an interesting movie idea, he reached out to Szymanski on Twitter DMs to receive permission to make a film adaptation. Despite the informal approach, Szymanski said yes to his offer, and that was the start of the production of the film.
The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event called the Quiet Rapture, where every planet and star mysteriously vanishes from space. AT-5 is one of the four known moons remaining, desolate with no signs of life other than an ocean of blood. Our main character, known as The Butcher, Convict, or just Simon, is a convicted felon who was told that if he goes on an extremely dangerous mission of exploring one of AT-5's vastly unexplored blood oceans, he would gain his freedom. Welded within a rusty submarine alone, with little to no help, he is sent to the deepest pits of the ocean and told to gather as much information that’s down there as possible, even at the risk of his own safety. He is told that this mission is "greater than him." Information that is potentially groundbreaking needs to be discovered, even at the risk of his life.
That is exactly the reason why I absolutely love Iron Lung.
I will do this review with as few spoilers as possible. This for the people who are on the fence about watching it. This is your sign to watch it before it's taken off screens (or until it's available on a streaming platform).
Iron Lung is a 2026 film adaptation of the submarine simulation horror game developed in 2022 by David Szymanski. Markiplier played his first playthrough of Iron Lung on May 19th, 2022, a few months after its release. When Markiplier realized that this concept could potentially be an interesting movie idea, he reached out to Szymanski on Twitter DMs to receive permission to make a film adaptation. Despite the informal approach, Szymanski said yes to his offer, and that was the start of the production of the film.
The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after an event called the Quiet Rapture, where every planet and star mysteriously vanishes from space. AT-5 is one of the four known moons remaining, desolate with no signs of life other than an ocean of blood. Our main character, known as The Butcher, Convict, or just Simon, is a convicted felon who was told that if he goes on an extremely dangerous mission of exploring one of AT-5's vastly unexplored blood oceans, he would gain his freedom. Welded within a rusty submarine alone, with little to no help, he is sent to the deepest pits of the ocean and told to gather as much information that’s down there as possible, even at the risk of his own safety. He is told that this mission is "greater than him." Information that is potentially groundbreaking needs to be discovered, even at the risk of his life.
One might dismiss an Iron Lung review because typically they’re done by Markiplier fans, people who already come into watching the movie with a positive bias due to Markiplier both producing and starring in the film. I can assure this review comes from a person who has watched two and a half Markiplier videos in their lifetime. Trust me when I say this, I truly, wholeheartedly love this movie.
It’s definitely not to everybody’s taste due to the extreme two-hour slow burn, but that’s my favorite part about it. Two hours of a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings as you root for this character’s safety and well-being, having the gnawing feeling that it isn’t going to go well, while still holding onto the hope they’ll make it out alive, because the characters are holding onto that hope as well. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Your hopes are crushed and revived in a matter of minutes throughout the entire movie, just enough to keep you focused.
The main complaint I see from people about this movie is how long it is, which it is fairly long. The slow burn can be extremely slow at times, but during those slow moments are details and bits of foreshadowing that engage you. As you find more and more details leading to foreshadowed moments, the more you realize just how hopeless the situation Convict is in. There’s a lingering, dreadful feeling that stays with you, a suspense that keeps you on edge until the climax.
It’s definitely not to everybody’s taste due to the extreme two-hour slow burn, but that’s my favorite part about it. Two hours of a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings as you root for this character’s safety and well-being, having the gnawing feeling that it isn’t going to go well, while still holding onto the hope they’ll make it out alive, because the characters are holding onto that hope as well. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Your hopes are crushed and revived in a matter of minutes throughout the entire movie, just enough to keep you focused.
The main complaint I see from people about this movie is how long it is, which it is fairly long. The slow burn can be extremely slow at times, but during those slow moments are details and bits of foreshadowing that engage you. As you find more and more details leading to foreshadowed moments, the more you realize just how hopeless the situation Convict is in. There’s a lingering, dreadful feeling that stays with you, a suspense that keeps you on edge until the climax.
Aside from the plot, I want to give a huge shout-out to the absolutely amazing set and costume design for this movie. This film was completely self-funded by Markiplier with only three million dollars. There was no studio behind him; he built his team from the ground up. I was enamored by what he was able to do with just three million dollars, considering the long length of this movie. For comparison, between 2009 and 2014, the average budget for a horror movie was between nine million and thirty million dollars. A good portion of why the budget worked well in Iron Lung’s favor is because the entire movie takes place in one area, which is the submarine. Despite this, I’m still awestruck by the production quality and just how much they were able to do, even though it only took place in one setting. The costume, the props, the lighting, the music, everything far exceeded my expectations for this movie. It was one of the main things that drew me in from the beginning. I spent a lot of the movie just admiring the set design, in all honesty. It’s so gory and disgusting in the best way possible; never did I think anything looked unintentionally cheaply made, nor did I find any signs of them cutting corners anywhere within the production.
I think another one of the main reasons why I love this movie so much is because of how much pride and care it clearly took to make it. It’s so horrifyingly beautiful, and it’s like that because of the human talent shamelessly poured into what is essentially a passion project. Markiplier didn’t make this movie expecting it to make him 17x more than his budget; he made it because he wanted to turn a unique concept of a game he felt really immersed in and turn it into a movie. In an age where AI is starting to take over human creativity, passion projects like Iron Lung are the exact reason why AI will never prosper. Only human-made skill and love for the craft can make something as creative and unique as Iron Lung.
Long story short, if you’re really into deep slowburn psychological horror, I would definitely give this a watch! No background knowledge on the game is needed, as everything you need to know is within the movie. As long as blood doesn’t make you squirmish, of course…
I think another one of the main reasons why I love this movie so much is because of how much pride and care it clearly took to make it. It’s so horrifyingly beautiful, and it’s like that because of the human talent shamelessly poured into what is essentially a passion project. Markiplier didn’t make this movie expecting it to make him 17x more than his budget; he made it because he wanted to turn a unique concept of a game he felt really immersed in and turn it into a movie. In an age where AI is starting to take over human creativity, passion projects like Iron Lung are the exact reason why AI will never prosper. Only human-made skill and love for the craft can make something as creative and unique as Iron Lung.
Long story short, if you’re really into deep slowburn psychological horror, I would definitely give this a watch! No background knowledge on the game is needed, as everything you need to know is within the movie. As long as blood doesn’t make you squirmish, of course…
