Coma (1978)

76% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(7,143 ratings)

A feisty, feminist intern uncovers a medical conspiracy in this icy thriller about mysterious goings-on at Boston Memorial Hospital. When her best friend and aerobics partner, Nancy Greenly (Lois Chiles), emerges in a vegetative state from a routine abortion, Dr. Susan Wheeler (Genevieve Bujold)… More A feisty, feminist intern uncovers a medical conspiracy in this icy thriller about mysterious goings-on at Boston Memorial Hospital. When her best friend and aerobics partner, Nancy Greenly (Lois Chiles), emerges in a vegetative state from a routine abortion, Dr. Susan Wheeler (Genevieve Bujold) does some digging and discovers an overabundance of anesthesia-induced comas among otherwise healthy young patients. The male authority figures who challenge Susan's technically illegal tampering with medical records include her boss, Dr. Harris (Richard Widmark); the chief anesthesiologist, Dr. George (Rip Torn); and even her boyfriend, Dr. Mark Bellows (Michael Douglas), who doesn't want Susan's shenanigans to get in the way of his shot at chief resident. As Susan continues her crusade, the paper trail leads to the Jefferson Institute, a mysterious, experimental facility in which vegetative patients are stored en masse, suspended from the ceiling by wires threaded through their long bones, in order to reduce the cost of long-term care. A shadowy assailant begins to stalk Susan just as she uncovers the link between the Jefferson Institute and the comas at Boston Memorial, setting the stage for climactic suspense scenes involving morgues, malpractice and endless institutional corridors. Writer/director Michael Crichton adapted his second feature film from Robin Cook's bestseller of the same name. Tom Selleck, who would star in Crichton's Runaway several years later, appears briefly in Coma as another victim of lethal anesthesia. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By: Michael Crichton
Written By: Michael Crichton
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 6, 1978 Wide
On DVD: Jan 29, 2008

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Coma is an extremely entertaining suspense drama in the Hitchcock tradition.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
The aftereffect of Coma is a catlike yawn, benign and bored.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Michael Crichton's slow-paced thriller must have begun with something to say about the morality of the medical profession, but whatever it was is lost in the shuffle of unnecessary narrative detail.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
More entertaining than credible.
, Empire Magazine
A suspense-filled nailbiter that plays on a fear no weapon weidling psycho can top.
, Film4
This is a tidy conspiracy-theory thriller from Crichton, who accentuates the tension by packing it into a wholly believable, human framework.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Coma wastes a superb performance by Bujold on a simplistic, predictable series of cliched suspense scenes, seasoned with some last-minute moralizing about contemporary medicine.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
See it and worry.
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
A superb suspense-thriller.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Pretty creepy stuff hanging around here.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
corny classic thriller
Staci Layne Wilson, Fantastica Daily
Micheal Crichton in his heyday
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Genevieve Bujold puts in one of the strongest performances of her career in this well-done thriller.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Adequate Michael Crichton thriller.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Crichton does Cook in this engaging (if dated) medical thriller.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

A criative thriller.
jay n

Tightly directed medical thriller with top performances from Genevieve Bujold and Richard Widmark. Interesting premise well realized with a lot of now familiar faces, like Ed Harris and Tom Selleck, in small roles. Elizabeth Ashley scores strongly in her few scenes imparting a sense… More
Tightly directed medical thriller with top performances from Genevieve Bujold and Richard Widmark. Interesting premise well realized with a lot of now familiar faces, like Ed Harris and Tom Selleck, in small roles. Elizabeth Ashley scores strongly in her few scenes imparting a sense of malevolence beneath an icy professional demeanor.
Dean M

This is a fine entertaining suspense drama in the Hitchcock tradition.

Cast

            Geneviève Bujold as Dr. Susan Wheeler

            Michael Douglas as Dr. Mark Bellows

            Elizabeth Ashley as Mrs. Emerson

            Rip Torn as Dr. George

            Richard Widmark as Dr. Harris

            Lance Le Gault as Vince

            Lois Chiles as Nancy Greenly

            Hari as Dr. Morelind

            Gary Barton as Computer Technician

            Frank Downing as Kelly

            Richard Doyle as Jim

            Alan Haufrect as Dr. Marcus

            Michael MacRae as Chief Resident

            Betty McGuire as Nurse

            Tom Selleck as Sean Murphy

            Charles Siebert as Dr. Goodman

            William Wintersole as Lab Technician

            Ernest Anderson as First Doctor

            Harry Basch as Second Doctor

            Joe Bratcher as Surgical Resident

            Kay Cole as Sally

            Maury Cooper as Doctor

            Sarina C. Grant as Woman in Elevator

            Ed Harris as Pathology Resident #2

            David Hollander as Jimmy

            Joanna Kerns as Diane

            David McKnight as Man in Elevator

            Roger Newman as Surgical Resident

            Joni Palmer as Dance Instructor

            Don Torres
            
            Lois Walden as Nurse

            Benny Rubin as Mr. Schwartz

            Martin Speer as Surgical Resident

            Dick Balduzzi as First Maintenance Man

            Gary Bisig as Second Maintenance Man

            Gerald Berns as Security Guard

            Duane Tucker as First Man in Shower

            Michael Lally as Security Man

            Paul Ryan as First Technician

            Robert Burton as Pathology Resident #1

            Amentha Dymally as Nurse

            Wyatt Johnson as Second Cop

            Kurt Andon as First Cop

            Gerald Benston as Anesthetist

            Tom Borut as Dr. Cowans

            Philip G. Brooks as Dr. Richards

            Sue Bugden as Nurse

            Paul Davidson as Surgical Resident

            Sharron Frame as Nurse

            Edward C. Higgins as Security guard #2

            Del Hinkley as Second Man in Shower

            Susie Luner as Nurse

            John Widlock as Norman

            Michael Mann as Second Technician
See full cast