At Boston Memorial hospital, there have been 12 cases of young healthy patients in very minor and different surgical operations, never regaining consciousness afterward and falling into a coma. Although, when Dr. Susan Wheeler's friend happens to be one of those casualties, she takes it upon herself to dig in deep, about this strange occurrence, as the frequency and cloud covering it seems to be way too fishy. Soon, she finds herself in one big conspiracy that just doesn't want to be found out with plenty of obstacles blocking her path and no one believing her.
No wonder why hospitals can give you the wet-willies! Director / screenplay writer, Michael Crichton's "Coma" is a glum medical thriller with a very scary idea and builds suspense and intrigue up like Hitchcock flick. The secret web of crafty turns and unpredictable patterns, works extremely well with its cleverly planned out and thorough script, which takes its time in setting up the mystery and paranoia edge. It's truly effective in that department, but I did find to be overdrawn and finish with a too soft of an ending. The compatible looking production gives the film a little more credit and a certain slickness to its B-material. Yeah, it's b-stuff, but the key is, it's done very well with it opting for a more serious outlook despite the silly nature of it all when you look deeper into it. In patches it does get quite nagging and I found it hard to actually connect with the bitter heroine in this piece. The story doesn't particularly flesh out these characters, but really, they are secondary to the morbid actions occurring. Genevieve Bujold gives in a true performance as the headstrong Susan Wheeler, who puts her nose where she's not supposed to, but I found the character very unlikeable and frustrating. Michael Douglas who shares the screen, basically isn't given too much to do, but he's fine in the co-role as Wheeler's sceptical boyfriend / fellow doctor Mark Bellows. Richard Widmark gives a tip-top performance, Rip Torn is fair and so is Elizabeth Ashley. In bit parts, are Tom Selleck and a creepy looking Ed Harris. Chiming in is Jerry Goldsmith's kinetic score that's truly on the alienating side and crisp photography gives the film a real nice shine when capturing the cold and sterile setting. Novelist / director, Crichton, does a efficient job in the director's chair and he frames some well-executed, blood curdling and nail biting scenarios.
The thriller "Coma", provides a good dosage of ghoulish entertainment. It's definitely worth a daily check-up.
No wonder why hospitals can give you the wet-willies! Director / screenplay writer, Michael Crichton's "Coma" is a glum medical thriller with a very scary idea and builds suspense and intrigue up like Hitchcock flick. The secret web of crafty turns and unpredictable patterns, works extremely well with its cleverly planned out and thorough script, which takes its time in setting up the mystery and paranoia edge. It's truly effective in that department, but I did find to be overdrawn and finish with a too soft of an ending. The compatible looking production gives the film a little more credit and a certain slickness to its B-material. Yeah, it's b-stuff, but the key is, it's done very well with it opting for a more serious outlook despite the silly nature of it all when you look deeper into it. In patches it does get quite nagging and I found it hard to actually connect with the bitter heroine in this piece. The story doesn't particularly flesh out these characters, but really, they are secondary to the morbid actions occurring. Genevieve Bujold gives in a true performance as the headstrong Susan Wheeler, who puts her nose where she's not supposed to, but I found the character very unlikeable and frustrating. Michael Douglas who shares the screen, basically isn't given too much to do, but he's fine in the co-role as Wheeler's sceptical boyfriend / fellow doctor Mark Bellows. Richard Widmark gives a tip-top performance, Rip Torn is fair and so is Elizabeth Ashley. In bit parts, are Tom Selleck and a creepy looking Ed Harris. Chiming in is Jerry Goldsmith's kinetic score that's truly on the alienating side and crisp photography gives the film a real nice shine when capturing the cold and sterile setting. Novelist / director, Crichton, does a efficient job in the director's chair and he frames some well-executed, blood curdling and nail biting scenarios.
The thriller "Coma", provides a good dosage of ghoulish entertainment. It's definitely worth a daily check-up.