MovieChat Forums > Coma (1978) Discussion > problems with chase scene

problems with chase scene

posted 12 years ago by aburn-1
3 replies | jump to latest

overall i think it was a good movie for 1978. but it did have some problems with the chase scene in the hospital that i felt was bad even for 1978. this is when she is being chased by the guy with the gun through the various hospital rooms.

1)why does she keep ducking into rooms? she works there and knows how to find security or get to a populated area

2)when she finds a colleague named Jerry, why does she leave him when he takes a phone call? even if she felt safe at this time, just a moment later she spots the guy that she's afraid of. instead of just going back to Jerry's side, she ducks into the amphitheater. why not just wait with him again? which leads to.....

3)how does she know the guy she just spotted is after her, or the guy that pretended to be security earlier? she's never seen his face before

4)she locked the bad guy in the freezer. he's locked in there. not going anywhere. why not contact hospital security or police at this time? the next shot shows her back at her boyfriend's place and frantic about being chased, but she should be relieved at this point since she is now safe. but i guess she didn't tell the police or any of the other hundred doctors still in the hospital at the time.

while it was still a fairly thrilling chase sequence, these problems gave it a 'B' movie feel to it and cheapened the rest of the movie for me.

[–] jrs-8 12 years ago

I will try to address your questions as I just watched this last night.

1) I think she keeps ducking into rooms because, in that situation, people don't think straight. They panic and safety is the first issue. Yes she should have got to the stairs or elevator and gotten around people. Plus, dramatically, it was more exciting.

2) My thought on this is that perhaps she felt that she might be endangering Jerry's life as well. Besides, Jerry was a bit nerdy and it wouldn't have taken much for the killer to have taken care of him.

3) You have to remember that by this time she is paranoid. Her car wouldn't start and she first spots him in the dark staring at her. She takes the train and sees him again.

4) Yes that was a strange cut from locking him in the freezer to of her coming home. I assume the authorities were called. How else would Widmark know enough to drug her drink in an attempt to finish her off?

Still in all I thought it was a good movie.

[–] Broodboy 12 years ago

Agree with jrs

Nuff said !

[–] robbytara 12 years ago

Aburn, as your post was too long in my opinion, I agree with the other posters. I would suggest to rewatch the movie and realize it is just that.