Movies
[BD Review] ‘Coma’ Lacks Oomph
The idea of a medically induced coma is not that terrifying. Sometimes patients are so ill that their bodies need a deep rest to heal. The miniseries, Coma, based on the 1977 novel by Robin Cook and the 1978 movie of the same name, uses the idea of comas and pushes them into the horror realm. What if patients, during routine operations, were forced into comas so that they could be used for medical experimentation?
The four-hour series originally aired on A&E in September of this year. The promotional commercials for the program were far more intriguing than the series itself. Condensed into two parts for the DVD, the 160 minutes of Coma are entertaining, but fall short in achieving mind blowing capacity. Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) plays Susan Wheeler, a young medical student who discovers that an alarming number of patients from operating room #8 at Peach Tree Memorial Hospital are falling into comas during surgery.
The series, which was executive produced by Ridley Scott and his brother Tony Scott, falls short in the scares. There is just too much going on. One moment we’re learning that Wheeler’s grandfather was the founder of the hospital, then we are seeing a viral video about the Jefferson Institute which houses coma patients after their insurance lapses and then we’re seeing that the head physicians at the hospital – some of which are having affairs with each other – are entangled in some sort of conspiracy which they are keeping tight lipped about. There is, again, just too much going on.
The biggest flaw of the series is actually the inclusion of a subplot that doesn’t really go anywhere at all. Michael Weston, who actually played a nutcase that took Michael C. Hall for a psychotic joyride on Six Feet Under, does what he does best: he plays a deranged lunatic. He is a creepy patient of Geena Davis’s Dr. Lindquist that was released on her recommendation after he killed a young lady. His character, Peter Arno, stalks Susan Wheeler, trying to kill her while he has hallucinations of trees from the forest that he killed the girl in long ago. It simply does not fit into the story – even when we find out in the end that Dr. Lindquist, who has been medicating and instructing Arno everyday, has moved on to continue her medical expertise in China.
While Lauren Ambrose is strong in her performance, throwing in roles for James Woods and Richard Dreyfess make it seem like it was just so the series could be marketed by name dropping. The standout performance by far is Ellen Burstyn. After not looking at the box in fear of spoilers (I’ve never seen the original film or read the novel) it took a moment to see that it was indeed Chris MacNeil from The Exorcist. Burstyn is gorgeous for her age and watching her performance as Mrs. Emerson is mesmerizing. She has the character down, and with her accent and mannerisms, she is the main focus and it’s a shame that we could expand more on that storyline rather than spending time on Arno and his trees/stalking of Susan.
The DVD is nicely packaged with haunting artwork of a suspended coma patient and all of our big name stars. Sadly, there is nothing special to this DVD. There are no extras, only the option of watching the series in one, two or both parts together. Though the pace is pretty quick, the storyline drags somewhat, which is easy to explain as watching it on television with commercials would have broken it up and perhaps made it easier to swallow.
While the idea of forced coma and ultimate medical experimentation is disturbing, not exploring the ethical elements of using humans as guinea pigs is a big strike against Coma. Perhaps the novel delves into this world paralleling the past of humans playing God, or even the inhumane doings of the Nazis (which did lead to certain breakthroughs in the end) – but the A&E miniseries lacks that little oomph that could have made it that much more.
This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!
The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.
The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.
In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”
Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.
Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.
A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.
Check your local listings to find a theater near you.
Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).
“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.
“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”
The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.
The film is now streaming only on Peacock.
“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.
Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.
Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.
“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”
The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by HUNGRY.
All aboard the swamp tour from hell – this hippo isn’t playing games…
HUNGRY is now available on Digital. Watch it now!
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