Coma (1978)

 Coma (1978)

In 1978 two great minds in the genre of science fiction came together to create an amazing science fiction horror film, by the name of Coma.  The film was written and directed by Michael Crichton, and was based on a 1977 novel by his friend, science fiction legend Robin Cook.  The film starts off as being a slow going medical drama, about two young doctors, but when one of the doctor's friend who is a healthy young adult in great health goes into a coma during her abortion, Dr Susan Wheeler, wants to know why, and what her investigating into the issue, shifts the film from a slow paced medical drama, into a suspense film, that quickly starts descending into a terrifying horror film with a plot about greed, medical malpractice, and organ harvesting and sales.  I think what makes this and Michael Crichton's other films and books so effective is the believability of the works, because they have their roots in science facts.  

Coma was written and directed by Michael Crichton, and based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Robin Cook.  The film was produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and distributed by United Artists in 1978.  Coma was a massive success in the box office, grossing $50 million on a budget of $5 million.  Coma was also a critical success receiving generally positive reviews.  

Coma stars Genevieve Bujold as Dr Susan Wheeler, Michael Douglas as Dr. Mark Bellows, Rip Torn as Dr George (chief anesthesiology at Boston Memorial Hospital), Richard Widmark as Dr. George Harris (chief of surgery at Boston Memorial Hospital), Elizabeth Ashley as Nurse Emerson (of the Jefferson Institute), and Lois Chiles s Nancy Greenly (Dr Wheeler's friend who goes into a coma after her abortion procedure at Boston Memorial Hospital in O.R. #8).  The film also features a small part by Tom Selleck as Sean Murphy a surgery patient who goes into a coma, and is the feature film debut of actor Ed Harris as one of two pathology residents who tells Susan how a patient might be killed, when she is exploring the mysteriously high numbers of comas at Boston Memorial Hospital.  The film has a great talented cast, all the actors do a superb job at bringing their characters to life, and help to create this amazing dramatic, suspenseful thriller horror film. 

The film is quite atmospheric, and has a slow build to get to the crux of the story, and I think that the slow build up helps to intensify the horror of the reality of what is going on in the film.   All of the actors are perfect for their roles, and they play the parts of doctors exceptionally well, handling the medical terminology with such a natural casual manner, as a doctor would.  I appreciate the detachment that the characters have when it comes to seeing dead bodies and in dealing with surgery and other medical aspects of the film, making it actually feel like it is an everyday part of their life, and just part of their job each day, this creates this element of natural realism, that again makes the horror aspects of the film all the more terrifying.   The plot of a hospital purposely putting a small percentage of the patients it operates on into permanent comas and selling them to a "coma center", who puts on a front for the families that they are caring for the patients, but in reality are harvesting their organs and selling them to the highest bidder, is a realistic plot that could theoretically happen, and effectively plays into the fear of the the unknown when you go in for surgery and are put to sleep by the anesthesiologist.  We don't know what the doctors are doing, while we are unconscious, and we put our trust and faith in them, and the idea that someone could violate that trust for financial gain is a terrifying thought, but also a fear that has its root in a realistic possibility.  Greed is a powerful thing, and people, even doctors have been shown to do some pretty terrible things in the name of greed

If you haven't seen Coma I highly recommend checking it out, like I said it has a slow start to it, and feels like it has a slow pace, but it helps to create a very intense and terrifying building of action, and a very terrifying climax.   Some might consider this film as more of a Suspense or Thriller, than a Horror film, really the line between thriller and horror is very thin.  To me Coma is a horror film that has its roots in a terrifying realistic possibility.  The film is beautifully done, and captivates the viewer, playing on a fear that many have of being put under during surgery, the fear of not waking up, and it also plays into the whole urban legend of selling organs on the blackmarket.   This is an effective horror film, and I think is a must-see film, and should be a part of every film collector's library.  So if you have yet to see Coma, I highly recommend picking up a copy of it if you come across it.  However be sure that it is the great 1978 classic and not the 2012 made for television miniseries remake that aired on A&E, the original film is a must see.