You know that old urban legend about waking up in a tub with one of your kidneys missing? Would you like to see a whole movie based on that? No? Well, too bad, because here we go with Koma, a pedestrian thriller that incorporates more yawns and groans than shocks or scares. With a boring story, sub-par acting, and an annoying foot fetish displayed by the director, Koma just might end up throwing you into one of your own.

There's a maniac going around Hong Kong cutting open people for their kidneys. While drunk at a wedding, Ching (Angelica Lee) stumbles upon the latest victim and a mysterious woman, Ling (Karena Lam). During the police investigation, Ling is cleared of charges, but it is discovered that she is having an affair with Ching's fiancee, Wai (Andy Hui). Filled with jealousy, Ling begins harassing Ching, and all signs start to point to Ling being the kidney thief.

Technically, Koma does a good job in creating a dark and moody atmosphere, and slots in a bit of gore to keep things interesting -- at least to a point. Even though Koma looks great, there's nothing really behind it. The story and its' twists are blatantly transparent. Combined with acting more suitable for a Lifetime movie and Law Chi-Leung's jarring need to constantly focus on the actresses' feet, Koma ends up falling on its face hard, leaving the viewer felling like they themselves are caught in a tub filled with ice.

It should be noted that this review is much less positive than many present on the internet. Based on the ones I read, most of them were written around the time of Koma's release in 2004. During that time, Hong Kong horror/suspense was dominated by "I see dead people" ghost-themed fare, and taking that into account, one can see why people had a favorable reaction to the more realistic (at least somewhat) story and events presented here. But at the time of this writing (early 2010) this reviewer can safely say (at least in their opinion) that Koma hasn't aged all that well. If you want to check out a more effective thriller from the same time period, I would recommend the superior Dumplings instead.

RATING: 4