Review of Blood Simple (1985) by Darwin K — 08 Jan 2012

Blood Simple, Great Movies.

Coen brothers first film *Blood Simple* is I think what made these guys a master in filmmaking. Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, O Brother where art thou?, Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, True Grit remake, all are good and great films of the Coens, but Blood Simple is the godfather of these films. The Coens are so great in telling a story but what I loved is that unpredictable factor, I can't exactly predict anything from any film of the Coens, brilliant! As they say, 2 is better than 1, and you got two in here!

Anyways, let's go back to why this film is really great. No matter how many films I've seen or heard or experienced, still, Blood Simple feels like a 1940s film noir but it isn't. This is also a great study of a man, or let's say, people involved in a crime, greed, deception, lust, jealousy, treachery, WOW, any more words? The thrill is just unbelievably terrifying as hell. The soundtrack is more scarier than a Hitchcock movie. You clean and clean but there's still blood all over the place; You also know you have committed a murder, but you're not sure how or why; and lastly, you know you've forgotten a small detail that will eventually get you into a lot of trouble. Themes like that are always present to any of the Coens films and as I said earlier, this movie started them all. Of course, how could I forgot the performances that really got me hooked as well. Again, the actors don't act, they are who they are on how we see them. I know this is a low budget indie film, and so what?

Any questions? I guess Blood Simple can't be called a dated movie or an old piece of crap, come on! And the Coens films are not that recycled cliched garbage, they're really one of a kind, or maybe two of a kind, so does Joel and Ethan Coen.