Coma (2020)

Coma (2020)

6/10

Starring

Rinal Mukhametov

Lyubov Aksyonova

Anton Pampushnyy

Milos Bikovic

 

 

Directed by Nikita Argunov

Here’s a quick glimpse of what you’re in for when you sit down to watch the Russian movie Coma. Just a heads-up: it’s in Russian, so you may want to avoid an English-dubbed version if you can and stick to subtitles for the best experience.

Coma starts out strong, pulling you into its unique sci-fi world—a world that mirrors our own but operates on an entirely different set of rules. In this world, everything exists because of the memories of the people living in it, and those people are all coma patients. At this point, the first question that crossed my mind was, How is it possible that all the coma patients in the world end up in the same place? I started to get invested in the idea that maybe all humans are connected in some sort of dream-state network that ties us together. Perhaps, when people fall into comas, they become trapped in this shared dream world where they meet others in the same condition.

Theories like this kept popping into my head as I watched. The people in this world don’t remember who they are or what they used to do. All they know is that survival is key. And survival isn’t easy when this world, built entirely from fragmented memories, is home to dangerous creatures called reapers. These creatures hunt the inhabitants, and if they catch you, you vanish from the coma world. I assume this means you’re brain-dead in the real world. The survivors live together in a camp-like settlement, led by a figure who guides them through this bizarre, treacherous realm.

Here’s where the movie delivers its big twist. Everything I’ve just described—the intricate world-building, the compelling mystery about the coma state, the fight for survival—is all designed to pull you in. Then, during a pivotal survival battle, the movie yanks the rug out from under you. Suddenly, everything you thought you knew about this world is turned on its head. The whole concept of the coma world is revealed to be a smokescreen for something else entirely. When the truth is unveiled, you’ll be momentarily lost. I even had to rewind and rewatch a segment to understand how the coma world connects to what appears to be the real world. Before I knew it, the movie had morphed from a sci-fi adventure into a medical thriller.

The story focuses on a single character’s journey. When he first wakes up in the coma world, he’s rescued by a group of fighters who save him from the reapers. They take him to their camp, where their leader declares him the “chosen one.” The leader explains that everyone in this world has a unique ability: some can sense danger, others are tech geniuses, and some are skilled warriors. The protagonist needs to discover his own power and figure out how he fits into this strange new reality.

I’ll stop here to avoid dropping any major spoilers. What I can say is that Coma is an enjoyable ride, full of surprises. The visual effects used to bring the coma world to life are stunning and well-executed. The acting is solid, and I found myself giving a lot of credit to the director for maintaining the thrill as the movie transitions through its many layers. It’s definitely worth a watch.