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Blood Simple

Blood Simple

1984
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 39m
A bar-owner in Texas is certain that his wife is cheating on him and hires a private detective to spy on her. This is just the beginning of a complex plot which is full of misunderstandings and deceit. Ethan and Joel Coen's first feature film. (imdb)
Your probable score
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Blood Simple

1984
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 39m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 66.05% from 3982 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(3982)
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Rated 29 Aug 2010
95
96th
Great directorial debut. Love that ending bit, and the music choices.
Rated 14 Oct 2011
83
81st
The Coen brothers hit the ground running with a tense and morbid neonoir. It's a bit rough around the edges and lacks the humor of their later movies, but for a debut it's amazing how strong and assured their style is already. The climactic scene in the apartment is extremely well done, the moment the Coens became the Coens we know and love.
Rated 24 Jan 2008
80
91st
Excruciating to watch. GOOD GOD WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT YOU MORON? STOP IT! STOP BEING MORONIC
Rated 30 Nov 2008
73
27th
Wow...I do not understand the love for this movie. I had only seen two Cohen Brothers movies before this one ("Fargo" and "No Country"), and they are both in my Tier 10. I was expecting to love this...I did not. Poorly acted, way too "subtle" for its own good, with characters I just could not bring myself to care about in the least. Walsh was a quality villian, I'll give the picture that...but I'm having a tough time coming up with any other positives about this one.
Rated 19 Apr 2009
4
70th
The material isn't the most unique, and it can lull a bit in the middle stretch of the movie, but the Coens' sense of style and the way the plot takes some unexpected twists raise this pretty well above average among murder stories. What it lacks in humor compared to the typical Coen effort, it makes up for in hair-raising tension, especially towards the ending, which is made up of some of the finest scenes of their career. And it's got one of the best closing lines ever.
Rated 07 Feb 2010
88
86th
Great to see this early Coen Brothers work has all their signature style in it. The effectiveness of the score, the dynamic and telling shots, lines of dialog coming up again and again, continual misunderstandings, and imperfect humans trying desperately to make things right. This is a really well-executed film with a lot of callbacks for comedy, suspense, plot, and theme. It's perfect that the single, really clarifying piece of evidence remains hidden under the strangest item in the whole film.
Rated 24 Jan 2012
89
86th
Astonishing debut with unique style and tension that would become Coen Bros. trademarks (later perfected in 'No Country'). Sharp dialogue and tight direction help form a simple yet classic crime tale. It's a slow-burning thriller that focuses on the psychological nature of murder and deceit. Whereas some thrillers have a high body count, this one takes its time to let us experience the pain and paranoia that the characters feel as the result of questionable choices or tragic misunderstandings.
Rated 10 Feb 2012
79
86th
The Joel Coen was working as an editor on Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" and asked him how to get his own movie made. Sam told him to pool together what money he had and shoot enough film to make a preview and then shop the preview around. It worked. Thank you, again, Sam Raimi.
Rated 09 Aug 2020
78
64th
Paradox and synchronicity, the more Coens' I watch the more I see threads of the Mentaculus running through their work (Hail Caesar's twins, Barton Fink's box, No Country's coinflips, etc.) There are several Schrodinger's cat scenarios in Blood Simple. These folks just won't stay killed. Dan Hedaya dies like three times but is he actually dead at the end? From whose perspective?
Rated 26 Nov 2007
81
74th
More darker than your average Coen movie, but still a great flick.
Rated 12 Jun 2008
8
82nd
Great debut from the Coens. It's really suspenseful and very Hitchcockian. It's easy to see why they got final cut on all their films after this.
Rated 29 Sep 2008
75
82nd
For my money, better than Fargo.
Rated 06 Oct 2008
91
93rd
A tight and tense neo-noir from the Coen brothers. It's incredible how large the movie feels in scope when it's got not only a small cast but makes use of only a few sets as well. Superb acting, cinematography and script all come together to make an excellent debut for the Coen brothers.
Rated 12 Jan 2009
96
72nd
first of the many
Rated 04 Oct 2009
93
98th
Majestic first outing from the Coen's. Full of edge of your seat type suspense and some cracking performances (McDormand and Walsh in particular). 'Blood Simple' deserves to be in the same company as the Coen's finest work. A noir inspired masterpiece.
Rated 10 Oct 2009
80
84th
A great murder mystery full of mistrust and mistaken identities. Wonderfully plotted and paced, with plenty of suspense along the way.
Rated 24 Sep 2011
80
84th
This possesses the Coens' favorite film themes of betrayal, misunderstanding, and consequences. However, what separates this out of their other efforts is the intense amount of character tension and cynicism in every scene. There is no trademarked light comedy or overly quirky character portrayals that you see in their other work. Each individual here is carrying around heavy baggage and is trying to overcome it but ends up being mired deeper in their own selfish morass.
Rated 05 Apr 2012
82
76th
A very good neo-noir with a great ending. It's a pretty impressive debut, especially considering that the Coen's had to deal with the animatronic dog constantly malfunctioning.
Rated 23 Jan 2019
80
75th
Tasty little film that just touches what the Coens would later become. Can't believe Raising Arizona was next.
Rated 01 Mar 2007
75
89th
Very good.
Rated 03 Aug 2007
72
25th
Honestly? I know it's the Coens, but it's kind of slow, quiet and boring until the last act. I wish more young filmmakers realized that "indy" doesn't have to mean "silent" - dialogue is free! Use more of it!
Rated 18 Aug 2007
82
67th
Tight, well made thriller. Like most such movies it relies on the occasional stupid character decision, but it remains believable enough to work. Even though it's not a comedy, it does have some funny moments and is overall very stylish and engaging.
Rated 25 Oct 2007
80
68th
A little overdirected but a fun modern noir from the boys who'd later be known as two of America's best
Rated 28 Mar 2008
8
90th
They did it better in Fargo, the dark humor here is a bit more awkward and forced. The characters aren't quite as interesting either and there's definitely some pacing issues, but it's still very enjoyable.
Rated 20 Apr 2008
75
71st
The Coens are just fucking masters of suspense. The entire thing is taut and engaging, pretty fucking dark, but with moments of humor where you're not sure if you're supposed to be laughing or not. That's how tense it is. Even the humor is edge of your seat OH SHIT stuff.
Rated 23 Jul 2008
92
83rd
Tight neo-noir.
Rated 02 Feb 2009
9
90th
An excellent debut for the Coen brothers, unadorned but featuring a great plot and filled with an abundance of eerie and tense moments. Loved it!
Rated 03 Feb 2009
97
99th
One of the greatest and tightest scripts ever written.
Rated 26 May 2010
90
85th
A fantastic film, worthy of preservation and preserved it has been through the miracle of digital technology and Ultra-Ultra Sound, a Lucas process.
Rated 03 Jun 2010
65
58th
Uneven but well written little thriller, that makes good use of some simple suspense setups. It shows great potential (which of course is easy to claim on this side of the Coen's oeuvre)
Rated 11 Jan 2011
78
75th
Pretty good Coens movie. It's very suspensful, and man, that ending is just fantastic
Rated 25 May 2012
83
82nd
The ending to this is the closest the Coens have ever gotten to making a slasher movie.
Rated 18 Sep 2012
85
87th
Excellent feature film debut of the Coen Brothers. You can really see in this film the talent that took them to the heights they sit atop now. Wonderfully acted, tense, and beautifully written.
Rated 18 Jan 2014
93
86th
Pretty clever thriller that serves well as an example of what the Coens do best. Plenty of full, strange characters, terrific cinematography, atmosphere and plot that unravels perfectly. Hardly a movie that many first time directors could achieve, or even some seasoned pros. And once again, AWESOME cinematography.
Rated 17 Aug 2015
90
96th
One of my best movie experiences in recent months. Leaving me altogether shocked, enthralled, thrilled and amused, not necessarily in that order. Like "Fargo", the film draws its strength from putting ordinary people in a Hollywood-plot, unsure of how to cope. There is always one body too much, always someone who doesn't have a clue what's going on, yet the film never undermines its own infallible logic.
Rated 16 Aug 2016
73
78th
A confident and clever debut, the Coens arrived on the American film scene with style to spare. Along with Body Heat, Blood Simple help reignite interest in film noir and established their well earned reputation as creative story tellers, even if it's less inventive than their best work and inferior to their second attempt at noir, The Man Who Wasn't There. A young Francis McDormand impresses in an early role, and Emmet Walsh is clearly having fun, but a few clunky moments hurt it.
Rated 31 May 2017
82
94th
They were under 30 when making this! PS: DI10+SC10+CI10+ED8+AC8+SO8+OV7+WH9+MY10+WO2
Rated 19 Jun 2018
80
55th
A movie about poor communication skills.
Rated 06 Jul 2018
4
74th
Black as spades. Nervy and violent stupor. An evil deed shared among the scorned, misguided, or just plain wicked. Everyone's hands are dirty. This is one of the great director debuts, perhaps not as wildly inventive as some of the Coens' later master classes, but still with a number of creative scenarios and set pieces. A young Frances McDormand resembles Gloria Grahame.
Rated 08 Sep 2018
77
82nd
Amazing debut for the Coens (and Sonnenfeld as DP). I love how much of the story is told through action or camera or lighting instead of dialogue. Only personal downside is that while many Coen hallmarks were already present here, it lacks the humor that I think makes most of their work truly special.
Rated 10 Jan 2020
88
92nd
What a debut. There is a lot of style with the screen awash in neon and hazy blues. Add some deep dark neo-noir and M Emmet Walsh's cackle and it is a wonder how these two filmmakers hit the ground running this quickly.
Rated 05 Apr 2021
80
67th
Sometimes the Coens' style just misses the mark and I can never put my finger on why, but this debut involves them not getting too entrenched in what occasionally drowns them. It's not written or directed as well as their best films, but isn't overwritten like their worst. The more simplistic nature of the flick as a whole actually fits and allows them to tell an interesting story. Not mind-blowing but entertaining from beginning to end.
Rated 24 Jul 2021
40
30th
Ehh...I can see why people like it, but it didn't resonate with me. I prefer other Coens films for more direct humor. Fav scene: guy crawling away from car and about to get clobbered with a shovel. Then we lose the satisfaction of a payoff scene.
Rated 14 Feb 2007
85
88th
Yay
Rated 27 Apr 2007
79
55th
Wicked, tense, darkly humorous, and kinda nasty in places. Classic Coens.
Rated 16 Jul 2007
82
84th
The brothers' remarkably self-assured debut is tight as a bell, tells as much as it possibly can through visuals rather than dialogue (it creates tension from silence throughout much of it's running time) and in Walsh gives us one of the great noir performances. It contains two sequences in particular that are among their greatest and most suspenseful to this very day and the Director's Cut even follows Cronenberg's 96 minute rule. Tremendous.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
99
96th
One of my favorites. It's amazing what the Coen Brothers can put together on a shoe string budget. The scene where the gun shots create bolts of light through the wall is magic.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
90th
A masterpiece by the Coen brothers. Accept no substitutes in your dark dramas. There is definitely some great cinematography and stunning visuals in this one while maintaining the gritty mood that the story demands.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
88
64th
Seems like it would be a boilerplate crime drama, but Heyada's performance and steady pacing make it more than that.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
60
62nd
Effective, but I didn't enjoy it as much as some.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
82nd
The Coen brothers' brilliant career begins here. For me, though, this one has pacing issues.
Rated 15 Sep 2007
75
79th
Solid Coen film, though it is very different from their future work. Overall, a very respectable independent thriller.
Rated 21 Dec 2007
75
50th
I didn't really see much out of the ordinary here. Good acting and a good script keep it interesting, but it's not specifically noteworthy in any sense. For the early work of the Coens, it's probably among their weakest. That doesn't mean it's a weak movie by any stretch, just that it doesn't rank among the top tier like a good portion of their catalog does.
Rated 27 Jan 2008
80
36th
One of my lesser-favorite Coen brother movies.
Rated 08 Feb 2008
77
58th
Decent movie, but left me with way too many questions. I like to have to figure some things out, but there are just too many plot points to dissect. My brain hurts.
Rated 02 Mar 2008
68
48th
# 633
Rated 08 Mar 2008
60
58th
Opens slow with some overdone cinematography, & then either evens out or i get used to it. A clever, interesting & exciting story, a real pleasure.
Rated 29 Apr 2008
96
96th
The more I think about this movie, the more I believe this is some kind of masterpiece.
Rated 18 May 2008
85
72nd
Coen bros first movie I think -- just great!
Rated 15 Jun 2008
95
64th
One of the Cohen Brothers' best.
Rated 08 Oct 2008
95
89th
The best movie of the Coen brothers.
Rated 15 Mar 2009
86
80th
A slyly suspenseful, exciting (and sometimes agonizing) edge-of-your-seat story.
Rated 22 Mar 2009
93
86th
An exceptional debut by the Coen bros- nice plot twists, very effectively and simple (no pun intended) plot flow & nice noirish atmosphere punctuated by exceptional acting from a stellar (& then unknown) cast. The Coens have since done bigger budget, flashier, more complex and grander films, but they have never done a better film. Highly recommended.
Rated 27 Mar 2009
90
72nd
Great early entry for the Brothers Coen.... A must see for Crime fans...
Rated 06 Apr 2009
83
89th
A really great modern noir which combines suspense, mystery, horror and humour in a dark, seedy world inhabited by unsavoury, backstabbing caricatures of characters. Visually also one of the Coens' most impressive films, filled with stylish and interesting shots and the signature imagery of the genre. A real class act.
Rated 22 Apr 2009
88
73rd
Can a debut also be a masterpiece? If so, *Blood Simple* comes close.
Rated 02 Jun 2009
82
68th
Tense, gripping thriller with shady duplicitous characters. Obvious forerunner to Fargo and No Country. The late M. Emmet Walsh is particularly good as the not-so-stupid hitman.
Rated 18 Jun 2009
70
50th
The Coen brothers set the stage for an outstanding carear in this simple tale of human greed.
Rated 02 Jul 2009
56
36th
The "misunderstandings" are really just the characters being retarded, and that kind of angered me. They also weren't very interesting or likable. Still, flourishes of the Coens' up-and-coming directing style were certainly present, and made for some pretty memorable scenes.
Rated 16 Aug 2009
80
67th
Not bad for a debut! The ending is great.
Rated 18 Aug 2009
95
81st
A terrific crime story wrapped up in black comedy. Outstanding.
Rated 07 Sep 2009
74
74th
excellent debut. i especially noticed the heavy use of environmental sound FX combined with music to create atmosphere.
Rated 15 Sep 2009
80
68th
If this film can be considered a Noir, then I would say that when it came out it was the best since Chinatown. The scene of that guy burying the body is brilliant for a dozen different reasons, but it had me on the edge of my seat because of the several moments of indecision. There are many moments when characters have to make clear choices, and every decision hurls the them down a path of unstoppable cause and effect. Everything in the film feels someone inevitable and yet... not.
Rated 26 Oct 2009
6
81st
Decent up until the climax where it suddenly becomes really quite thrilling.
Rated 20 Dec 2009
86
71st
An effective atmospheric thriller.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
69
38th
626
Rated 27 Jan 2010
5
80th
Good modern noir, no more than good. To be fair, this does put it well above many of its ilk, and the ending is awesome.
Rated 16 Feb 2010
70
61st
A good start of the Coen brothers. Although not as well-acted, the directors show their talent, even with a cheap production, using amazing techniques of filmmaking, with a good dose of suspense.
Rated 01 Mar 2010
70
65th
Slow to the point of being pretty boring. Worth checking out, however, for the very last scene which is quite intense.
Rated 03 Mar 2010
79
69th
The Cohen Brothers emerge fully formed writers if not directors.
Rated 26 Apr 2010
80
84th
Clever Coens.
Rated 04 May 2010
75
50th
Neat and tidy.
Rated 08 May 2010
82
76th
A good debut film from the Coens. Good acting from all involved and a beautiful score from Burwell.
Rated 20 Jun 2010
7
67th
An unfunny version of Fargo filled mostly with idiot characters you won't care about. Fortunately, it all wraps up very nicely in the end with a fantastic final scene.
Rated 14 Jul 2010
40
25th
First rated it 75. 11 years later it only gets a 40
Rated 19 Aug 2010
83
92nd
It's a Shakespearean tragedy, full of dramatic irony, and then painted over with a Coen brush. Awesome!
Rated 03 Sep 2010
80
89th
An excellent debut by the Coen brothers.
Rated 09 Sep 2010
75
66th
The plot drags a little and the characters are forgettable but the Coens are still able to start off with a strong tragedy including great suspenseful finish.
Rated 25 Sep 2010
88
97th
Amazing debut. Film noirish with some great suspense and twists.
Rated 04 Oct 2010
100
94th
perfect.
Rated 13 Oct 2010
86
96th
The bleakest of black comedies where everything spirals out of control in a mess of misunderstandings, double-crossings and incorrect assumptions. Taut, tense and atmospherically shot, with a great score from Carter Burwell (his first). M. Emmett Walsh is the real star of this film.
Rated 14 Nov 2010
61
31st
Very good one but the storytelling could be smoother. Too much explaining and making sure that the audience knows everything. The great ending literally woke me up.
Rated 11 Dec 2010
90
98th
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Rated 13 Dec 2010
84
75th
A movie that constantly reminds me how much of a pansy I am. Seriously, though, this movie is intense and even though the development is slow this film manages to be, give and take, fairly unpredictable. And, holy shit that ending.
Rated 16 Dec 2010
62
53rd
This stylish neo-noir is the first film by the Coen brothers and dared to make some interesting comments on modern violence, in a very personal fashion.
Rated 02 Jan 2011
91
94th
91.000
Rated 08 Jan 2011
98
86th
brilliant!5*
Rated 17 May 2011
79
85th
An opera full of dummies
Rated 13 Jun 2011
92
94th
This may be the best of Coens.
Rated 21 Jun 2011
88
87th
This is a tense, visually arresting, sophisticated film that never insulted my intelligence and constantly kept me guessing. M. Emmit Walsh is a wonder, and the last scene is something I'll never forget. There are some minor pacing issues here and there, with the camera dwelling on certain shots a bit too much, but that's a minor complaint. The Cohens are truly gifted, and this movie proves that they always have been.

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