Coma

Here you have quite the modern suspense/horror movie, made all the more chilling by the fact that it could actually happen! It’s little wonder that fewer people signed up to be organ donors after this film was released.

Michael Crichton directs this film from a screenplay he wrote, which was based on the novel by Robin Cook. There’s plenty of talent behind the scenes. Genevieve Bujold stars as Dr. Susan Wheeler, and leads an all-star cast. Michael Douglas is a fellow doctor and Susan’s boyfriend. Richard Widmark is Dr. Harris. Rip Torn plays Dr. George, and Tom Selleck has a brief cameo (in one of his earliest roles) as Sean Murphy, a patient whose coma raises Susan’s suspicions about the goings-on at the hospital.

When a friend of Susan’s also ends up in a coma (also following a routine procedure), she gets suspicious and investigates the nursing home where all these comatose patients are being sent. There she learns the terrifying truth. Their organs are being harvested and sold to the highest bidders around the world. The strength of her character is that, even when she’s scared and nearly hysterical, she’s still able to think clearly and come up with a plan. Given that the film was made in the 1970s, it’s nice to see such a strong female character.

In one of the signature visuals of the movie, the patients are suspended by cables. This does look a bit silly and really doesn’t convey much in the way of chills. Nevertheless, there are plenty of other scenes that are scary. This story is certain to make you think twice about going to the hospital for anything.