2001: A Space Odyssey, Project Hail Mary, and Irong Lung all exist in the same spot in my head, and I don't think it's something I can explain very well.
Obviously Iron Lung and Project Hail Mary have the "suicide mission against their will" going for them, but Project Hail Mary isn't a horror film, even if it feels like one to me.
Iron Lung is a horror film about sacrificing those who are deemed unworthy of life (the convict being deemed expendable) and the desire to live through horrible circumstances. It includes cosmic, eldritch, and body horror. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a space adventure that watches like a horror film about a paranormal monolith and the desire to live despite all odds(Dave and Hal fighting wach other for survival). It includes cosmic and AI horror. Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi adventure film that feels like a personal horror film that examines sacrificing those who won't be missed (Ryland Grace and his 'no dog') for the greater good while also exploring what makes life worth living.
All three involve the need to live. They involve sacrificing people for the greater good and for science. They are all on suicide missions they didn't sign up for. All of the characters are stripped of their autonomy for the sake of the mission.
Iron Lung and 2001: A Space Odyssey both have the realization that information about the mission is being kept from them, and they will die because of it. They both are horrifying and end in a way that is both tragic and interesting.
Project Hail Mary and 2001: A Space Odyssey have the hopeful and mostly qualified characters who are put in a horrible situation when their crewmates in comas die and they are left scrambling to survive and complete the mission.
Project Hail Mary and Iron Lung both have characters forced into suicide missions to save humanity, and both encounter an alien life form that wants to work with them. Both protagonists are deemed expendable for various reasons and each desparately wants to live.
All of them have characters in what I would consider nightmare scenarios, have characters desparately trying to survive, are beautifully filmed, and have characters and tropes that I love and make me sick to my core.
Simon is Laika, the dog they never planned to bring back, Grace is Felicette, the cat that survived and was later dissected, and Dave and Hal (yes they both are in the nightmare scenario) are both the Alberts, the different monkeys sent into space who ended up dying.
All sacrificed for the greater good.
I'm fine.
