{"id":903276,"date":"2026-05-03T06:18:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T11:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/iron-lung-or-how-to-make-your-own-film-and-make-bank\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T06:18:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T11:18:58","slug":"iron-lung-or-how-to-make-your-own-film-and-make-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/iron-lung-or-how-to-make-your-own-film-and-make-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron Lung\u00a0Or\u00a0How\u00a0To\u00a0Make Your Own Film\u00a0And\u00a0Make Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>YouTuber Markiplier\u2019s live action take on the cosmic horror game Iron Lung is a three year long passion project that has his fans flocking to theatres worldwide. <\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Watching\u00a0<em>Iron Lung<\/em>\u00a0in a theatre is a surreal experience. For one,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0unexpected to see a one-hour-long (at most) indie game getting a two-hour runtime on a big screen. And two, seeing celebrated <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/are-indian-creators-shaping-the-next-pop-culture-wave\/\">YouTuber<\/a> Markiplier no longer confined to a box on the top left-hand corner of a screen, instead standing life-sized as he gets thrown around in a submarine while\u00a0literally\u00a0playing\u00a0the <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/valorant-rolling-loud-india-gaming-hip-hop-crossover\/\">game<\/a> he did a playthrough of in his YouTube channel around three years ago.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is a labour of love, three years in the making. Written, directed and starring a one-man army, Markiplier,\u00a0aka Mark Edward Fischbach,\u00a0Iron Lung\u00a0was initially meant to run in a select few theatres in the U.S.,\u00a0essentially targeted\u00a0at his dedicated fanbase. But now, it has slowly made its way around the globe. The <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/are-indian-creators-shaping-the-next-pop-culture-wave\/\">film <\/a>is based on the 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/marvel-cosmic-invasion-brings-saturday-morning-cartoon-vibes-to-a-modern-beat-em-up\/\">video game<\/a> of the same name by David Szymanski, who is also on board as\u00a0a\u00a0creative consultant.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p> <iframe title=\"Iron Lung: Final Trailer\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" data-lazy-type=\"iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" nitro-og-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IaEtA56pd_w?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" nitro-lazy-src=\"data:text\/html;base64,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\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><em>Iron Lung\u00a0<\/em>(the game) has a simple yet terrifying premise, cashing in equally on isolation, claustrophobia and thalassophobia against a cosmic horror backdrop. Far into the future, after humanity colonizes space, the devastating \u201cQuiet Rapture\u201d occurs. It causes all the habitable planets and stars to disappear,\u00a0leaving only those onboard space stations and spaceships alive in an endlessly dark universe. Hope lies in the discovery of a blood ocean on a desolate moon, looking to\u00a0contain\u00a0traces of salvageable material for humanity\u2019s dwindling resources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You play as an unnamed convict\u00a0piloting a\u00a0windowless\u00a0midget submarine\u00a0on its last legs\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0blood ocean. Your job is to navigate the ocean\u2019s points of interest\u00a0and take photographs\u00a0of your findings for further investigation. Sounds bad? It gets worse because\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0in a sinking sub\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0falling apart while something deep in the depths stalks you silently.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Iron Lung (the film)\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0deviate from the game\u2019s setting. It merely attaches a name (Simon) and\u00a0a very familiar\u00a0face (Markiplier) to the game\u2019s main character. Forced into piloting the sub, Simon needs to complete his mission in exchange for his freedom. He soon discovers that this\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0a maiden expedition as he was led to believe, and his chance of escaping alive is looking about as visible as the last star that flickered in the sky before\u00a0the \u201cQuiet\u00a0Rapture\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"519\" alt   src=\"https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Simon-in-the-sub-credits-Iron-Lung-960x519.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Simon-in-the-sub-credits-Iron-Lung-960x519.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Simon-in-the-sub-credits-Iron-Lung-480x260.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Simon-in-the-sub-credits-Iron-Lung-768x415.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Simon-in-the-sub-credits-Iron-Lung-150x81.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Simon-in-the-sub-credits-Iron-Lung.jpg 1000w\" data-old-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgMSAxIiB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"><figcaption>A still from the film <em>Iron Lung<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There have been a lot of <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/?s=video+game\">video game<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/review-a-fiery-start-to-kimetsu-no-yaibas-infinity-castle-arc\/\">film <\/a>adaptations lately,\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Iron Lung\u00a0<\/em>is by far the most faithful adaptation of its source material.\u00a0It captures the suffocating, isolating and oppressive atmosphere of the game,\u00a0placing you in the scene with startling clarity. The cinematography, stylized in a gritty Eighties <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/inside-the-nightmare-of-netflixs-first-young-adult-horror-k-drama-if-wishes-could-kill\/\">horror<\/a> kind of way, further amps up the tension. The entirety of the film takes place in the sub,<em>\u00a0SM-13,\u00a0<\/em>aka the Iron Lung,\u00a0and the set design nails it.\u00a0<em>SM-13<\/em>\u00a0is a to-scale recreation of the sub in the game,\u00a0right down to the monitors, the levers, the\u00a0buttons\u00a0and photographs of the blood ocean captured by the sub\u2019s X-ray camera. The film also holds the current record for the <a href=\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/the-movie-that-broke-record-for-most-amount-of-blood-ever\/\">most amount of fake blood used in a movie<\/a> (300,000 L), which caused the lead actor to get checked into the hospital when it got into his eyes while filming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Looking at this film, you\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0think that the blood sequences went through multiple iterations on a render farm built in Mark\u2019s bathroom from old servers bought on eBay. But\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0exactly what he did. Visually, it has a remarkable amount of polish, especially for an <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/rsi-recommends-must-see-indie-films-at-yellowstone-international-film-festival-2025\/\">indie<\/a> film by a first-time filmmaker.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It also recreates the game mechanics of stopping, taking a photograph to keep track of your location on the map, pressing\u00a0buttons\u00a0and pulling levers. This is where the pacing gets tricky. In a video game,\u00a0where you control the character and\u00a0must\u00a0do everything yourself, it only adds to the tension and insurmountable pressure on you (and the sub).\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0there because\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0the gameplay.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in translating that to film, in an attempt to stay true to the source material, it stretches the runtime.<br \/>There are a lot of repetitive shots of Simon drawing on his map and piloting the Iron Lung around the blood ocean, which brings down the momentum. For an adaptation\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0twice the length of the game it is based on, it does feel like some of this could have been tightened in the editing room. In fact, it\u2019s only from the second half\u00a0onwards\u00a0that the film picks up the pace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Iron Lung\u00a0<\/em>is a slow-burn psychological thriller where cabin fever sinks its claws into Simon. As the sub is lowered, Simon\u2019s sanity and grasp of\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0real and what\u00a0isn\u2019t also begin to unravel. The game throws you off into the deep end from the get-go,\u00a0and your mind is frantically trying to keep your character from drowning in blood, guts and all that gross stuff\u00a0that draws from\u00a0the lore.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0just the right amount of world building to pull you in. The film,\u00a0however, where\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0a passive participant,\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0elaborate any more than the game and for a viewer coming in with next to no knowledge of what\u00a0<em>Iron Lung\u00a0<\/em>is and simply looking for a cosmic horror film,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0confusing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" alt   src=\"https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blood-guts-and-all-that-gross-stuff-credits-Iron-Lung-960x640.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blood-guts-and-all-that-gross-stuff-credits-Iron-Lung-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blood-guts-and-all-that-gross-stuff-credits-Iron-Lung-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blood-guts-and-all-that-gross-stuff-credits-Iron-Lung-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blood-guts-and-all-that-gross-stuff-credits-Iron-Lung-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-5f9caa1\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blood-guts-and-all-that-gross-stuff-credits-Iron-Lung.jpg 1200w\" data-old-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgMSAxIiB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"><figcaption>A still from the film <em>Iron Lung<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At times it feels as though the narrative is crumbling like the\u00a0<em>SM-13<\/em>\u00a0and the plot is drip fed to you like the blood breaching the sub.\u00a0If the mission is integral to humanity\u2019s survival,\u00a0shouldn\u2019t the guy\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0sending down there be briefed on how to\u00a0operate\u00a0the sub?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Simon\u2019s motivations are also unclear. We know\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0a convict\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0been forced to pilot his own metal casket into a blood abyss. We know that wherever\u00a0he ends up, it\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0the surface. The little we know of his backstory is told to the audience through snippets of hallucinations as he slowly descends into insanity. Because\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0very\u00a0little\u00a0we know about Simon, it gets harder to separate the character from the actor. As a result,\u00a0it\u00a0feels like watching\u00a0Mark in a real-<s>\u00a0<\/s>life escape room based off a game. The film would have benefited if the world and Simon could have been fleshed out a little more instead of focusing\u00a0so much\u00a0on piloting the\u00a0sub.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But how did Iron Lung, an indie movie without a distributor, create a buzz big enough to become a global phenomenon?\u00a0\u00a0The answer lies in the director\/ writer\/ actor\u2019s popularity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Markiplier boasts a YouTube channel with a huge subscriber base of\u00a0nearly 40\u00a0million. His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WPiCSsW-2as\">original gameplay video <\/a>of\u00a0<em>Iron Lung\u00a0<\/em>has racked up 16 million views.\u00a0<em>Iron Lung\u00a0<\/em>was supposed to get a limited theatrical release,\u00a0but his fan<s>\u00a0<\/s>base managed to reach out to the theatres to make it a global phenomenon without a film distributor.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0amassed $52 million against\u00a0an initial\u00a0budget of\u00a0$3.6 million. On opening weekend, it was neck\u00a0to\u00a0neck with Sam Raimi\u2019s\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R4wiXj9NmEE\">Send Help<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and now the film\u2019s phenomenal response has encouraged a worldwide release.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0Mark\u2019s first foray into filmmaking. He already did an interactive web series\u00a0called\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YoSrocwNYjA\">Who Killed Markiplier? (2017)<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and two interactive films,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9TjfkXmwbTs\"><em>A<\/em>\u00a0<em>Heist with Markiplier (2019)\u00a0<\/em><\/a>and the Emmy-nominated\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j64oZLF443g\">In Space with Markiplier (2022)<\/a><\/em> \u2014 All of which are more cohesive, condensed and simply not as confusing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still, the film\u2019s success ushers in a new wave of <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/ziro-festival-2025-review-independent-music\/\">independent <\/a>filmmakers: creatives driven purely by passion to explore uncharted territories and unconventional plotlines in an industry otherwise obsessed with popular IPs,\u00a0remakes\u00a0and sequels.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rollingstoneindia.com\/iron-lung-film-review-markiplier-youtube-video-game\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>YouTuber Markiplier\u2019s live action take on the cosmic horror game Iron Lung is a three year long passion project that has his fans flocking to theatres worldwide. Watching\u00a0Iron Lung\u00a0in a theatre is a surreal experience. For one,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0unexpected to see a one-hour-long (at most) indie game getting a two-hour runtime on a big screen. And two, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":903277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149265,149264,104640],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-903276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-film-and-make","8":"category-lung-or-how-to-make","9":"category-youtube-videos"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}