A tense psychological thriller with horror overtones, this film stars Lee Sinje as Ching, a successful woman with kidney problems and Karena Lam as Ling, a healthy lady who resents Ching because she is successful. Ching is dating Wai and, it turns out since they can't be intimate due to Ching's problem, Wai is cheating on her with Ling. If that was all there was to it, it would be enough, but the film is also about someone who cuts kidneys out of people so they can be sold on the black market. Ching thinks Ling is behind it. However, before Ching leans about Wai and Ling, she tries to befriend Ling, since both of them are kind of lonely. The pairing of Ms. Lee and Ms. Lam is superb. Any scene they are in together elevates the film. I think the fact that they became friends during the production (they both said so on the Making Of featurette on the DVD) makes their acting together much more natural and interesting. Ms. Lee has become a very good actress over time and she gets to stretch a bit, gasping in terror and surmising the goings on (or, think she has) admirably. Likewise, Ms. Lam is very good. The other carriers are minor, this is Sinje and Karena's film. I recommend it to anyone who likes tense thrillers. Since its about the cutting out of kidneys, it can get bloody, but its not really a horror film, so that makes it better. I'd like to see these two ladies reunite for another film. They work very well together. Watch this.

Traditionally, Asian films have been sticking more to the classic horror styles and elements. What I'm saying is that in general, they are deeper, more frightening, and overall much better than American horror films. But I found something odd about "Koma." It seemed to be a combination of a slasher film, a psychological horror film, and a family drama. True, this has worked before, in much better films such as "The Silence of the Lambs", but there is something different about "Koma." It almost seems as if the filmmakers wanted to make an "American slasher flick" rather than an "Asian horror film", and to be blunt, they found something in-between.It is hard not to notice some American influence in the film. There are several shots ripped straight out of "Fight Club" and "The Evil Dead", and the musical score is taken directly from M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" (Though it is a computerized version of the music, not the original studio recording), with only minimal original music.But still, it manages to tell a rather absorbing (If not genre-confused) story about friendship, betrayal, and redemption, all revolving around the idea of kidney-theft. (Yum!) Unfortunately, the movie is only 88 minutes long, and all of the interesting ideas are condensed into lesser versions of what they could be. Perhaps if the movie was longer, and took more time to explore it's characters and stories, it would have been better. Hey, it might have even become a modern classic... But because of uneven direction (Zooming cameras and quick cutting in the beginning become long, steady shots as the movie progresses) and a compressed story, what we get is marginal.Sure it is memorable, but that is only because of it's odd vagueness in what it wants to be, transforming it into a mish-mash "referential" horror film. Overall, even though it is only "pretty good", and there are much better films out there, but be sure to at least give this one a shot, you might like it.

Such great cast for this movie, the plot was well pace and well thought out. Though sometimes not amusing (the rich-poor thing i have heard enough), the movie was overall not bad. Karena Lam and Angelica Lee are one of the few brightest stars in the Hong Kong entertainment. This movie revolves around a maniac who kidnaps people (mostly woman) and steals their kidney. Well Angelica was one of the few people who saw the suspect and surely think it was Karena Lam. To complicate the story, Angelica is having sexual problem and is dating Andy Hui. Who happen to have a one night stand and old classmate of his Karena Lam. The police quickly thought Angelica was jealous that his boy slept with this woman and release Karena. The acting in here was really good and believable. Beside of their good looks they know how to look crazy and serious when needed. This movie is suspenseful at time but not overly scary; for the most part the storyline was very well done. I ending twist I would have never thought which was brilliant, though they never tell us what happen to Andy Hui. I also like how they handle the 3 way love triangle, from the start to the end there feeling for each other has never change which I thought was very realistic. I think Karena did a better acting job than Angelica, so if this is HK movie time they better nominate her.Not a pure horror film like you see in Hollywood, contain an interesting plot (rarely seen in horror film now-a-day) and a great ending. Totally recommend this film.

SpoilersTwo years ago, Karena Lam Kar-Yan and Angelica Lee Sin-je established themselves as credible thriller actresses in Inner Senses (Yee Do Hung Gaan) and The Eye (Jian Gui) respectively. The former is a psychological thriller, and the latter a ghost story. Their talents are not limited to thrillers, as they have convincingly demonstrated in their many other works, particularly in the case of Lam. It is interesting though to see them brought together, in another thriller.Koma is not a ghost story, and not even a psychological yarn to the extent that Inner Senses is. It is a variation of the familiar rich girl/poor girl tale set in the traditional mystery thriller genre. Lam is the poor girl, bitter, manipulating, reckless. Lee is the rich girl, whose good fortune is marred by health problems. The story revolves around these two girls, the relationship that develops between them, and the eternal triangle they are entangled in.While the plot is far from being flawless and generally predictable, it's reasonably coherent. The script is decent, well paced between story telling and tension building. A strange thought I had however is on a message that I'm sure is absolutely unintentional: don't report a crime to a police but instead be a beneficiary, and you'll probably live happily ever after.The highlight of the movie has to be the two young ladies, who take this movie a notch above what it would have otherwise been. In a radio interview, they talked about how they, knowing each other only by fame but not in person before, had to quickly develop a rapport during the filming of this tension-filled movie. These two are unquestionably the best Cantonese speaking (they're actually even better in Mandarin) actresses among their peers. To watch their acting individually is a treat. To watch them act together, one truly appreciates the synergy.One last thought. In recent years, Hollywood seems to like buying Asian scripts for adaptation. The Ring is the best example, an adaptation from box office smashing Japanese horror Ringu. I believe they have also bought Korea's My Sassy Girl and Hong Kong's Infernal Affair. Would they consider this one? If they do, casting will be interesting. I would venture to suggest Christina Ricci and Alison Lohman, for Lee's and Lam's roles respectively.