Pjtaylor-96-138044 The Coen Brothers' first foray into feature film is a darker, more brooding affair than usual. 'Blood Simple. (1984)' features less fanciful dialogue and more slow-burning tension and when it works, it really works. Its blistering, nail-biting finale is a real highlight of the piece, as well as the eclectic directors' career. Often there are long stretches where I was honestly starting to get a little bored, though. This is down to is mostly down to a lax pacing that give the flick a laid-back and loose feel but contributes to a lull in excitement on more than one occasion. Still, the moments that stand out are really good. 6/10

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Blood Simple." is an American 100-minute film from 1984 and this one is mostly known today for being the first full feature film made by the Coen Bros that started their path to greatness in the upcoming decades. The only relevant female character is played by Frances McDormand (no denying she was really stunning in here) and this was the year when she married Joel Coen and actually this was also her first acting role. Today she is an Oscar winner and way more known than her male colleagues in this over 30-year-old film. But they are good too and it really is a strong ensemble performance that did not get half the awards attention it should have. And while the Coens are also masters of subtlety, this film here is at its best during the loud and spectacular sequences like when early on the investigator shoots his client or the scene when one character suddenly comes back to life again or of course the spectacular finale with one of the most memorable knife scenes in film history. The Coens are also truly great when it comes to including crucial coincidence in their films and even when they were at or even under the age of 30, they were also very skilled with regard to that already. And in addition to that, there is also a great deal of karma in here. The only truly innocent character from the 4 in the center of it all is eventually also the only one who survives.There were minor issues I had with the film, but all of them came from my subjective perspective like when McDormand's character suspects her lover to kill her too soon. But none of these were bad or anything, just not as great as most of the other stuff. And once again, this is a film that delivers the usual Coen situational comedy approach like the toilet sign about washing your hands, the jumping dog, the light on/off near the end and many other really interesting moments. As always with Joel and Etan, you will discover a great deal of new things on rewatch, things you may have missed out on during the first viewing because the love to detail is as good as it gets and even if it is not surprising if you have seen other Coen films, you still should not take it for granted. This film is really as good as it gets for launching your career and many other great filmmakers can only wish for their first work to be on such a high level of quality like "Blood Sample". This is very much on par with the brothers' very best, maybe right now my number 2 from the duo, second to none except their Best Picture winner. I highly recommend checking out these genuinely entertaining 100 minutes Blood Simple had to offer. Not a film for simple people though as it will clearly transcend their horizon.

Asif Khan (asifahsankhan) "Blood Simple" may be a low-budget affair, but the casting of great character actors like M Emmet Walsh and Dan Hedaya wring true tension out of this film. As has become commonplace on their projects, the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen write, produce, and direct this film.Dan Hedaya plays a brooding and bitterly jealous bar owner who wreaks revenge on his wife and lover by arranging to have them killed. Hired for the job is the sleazy laughter-racked private eye Walsh, who seems forever to be attracting flies.Deception appears to run deep in the heart of Texas and some corpses don't stay dead forever. A satisfying plot of twists and vicious black humour unravels to a tense conclusion with the assembled cast clearly revelling in their roles.The pace can at times be a touch slow, but it's easy to see why the Coens allow certain scenes to simmer, especially when their actors are chewing up the screen as they do. They alone maintain the interest but Barry Sonnenfeld's cinematography defies the low budget, turning this into a stylish-looking thriller that boasts many clever shots.Intriguing, clever, and often surprisingly funny there's plenty to please in this thriller, that remains fresh and original even today.

Predrag The story is awfully simple: Marty, a Texas bar owner and betrayed husband (Dan "Usual Suspects" Hedaya) hires the private eye to kill his unfaithful wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and her lover Ray (John "The Fly" Getz) who's also Marty's employee. The eye pretends to do the job and shows Marty some fake photographs showing the lovers shot dead in bed. He takes the money, then he shoots his hirer right away and disappears. Ray, who doesn't know about the detective's existence, discovers Marty's almost dead body. For him, no doubt: it's Abby who did this work... He takes him away in order to bury him far away from the bar, and finds out that Marty isn't dead yet. He's forced to bury him alive, offering us the most nightmarish scene of the film....The movie is a real visual and sound shock. The script is incredibly original and brings some freshness in usual cinema stuff dealing with unfaithful characters ready to kill each other in order to avoid all the difficulties linked to divorce. The ambiance and atmosphere is the ones of a real bad dream, a nightmare, and the fact that the story takes place in an early, gray place in Texas (don't miss the hilarious prologue), where everything weird can happen very normally, adds to it. And the soundtrack by Carter Burwell is extraordinary, this is what he did first and best for the Coen brothers. It captures everything of the movie and makes the nightmare become really true. All in all, "Blood Simple" is a very intriguing and suspenseful film, and totally entertaining. Highly recommended for a cold rainy night.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.