a 1984 crime-thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

“Blood Simple” is a 1984 crime-thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

a lean crime thriller that’s oozing with style, taut with suspense, and features an early taste of the duo’s signature dark humor

Blood Simple is a lean crime thriller that’s oozing with style, taut with suspense, and features an early taste of the duo’s signature dark humor.

a American neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Blood Simple is a American neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

a noir thriller about a bartender who starts an affair with Rear Window's boss's wife only for his boss's wife to end in gunshot and bloodshed – quite literally a tense affair from start to finish

Blood Simple is a noir thriller about a bartender who starts an affair with Rear Window's boss's wife only for his boss's wife to end in gunshot and bloodshed – quite literally a tense affair from start to finish.

a 1984 American neo-noir crime film

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Blood Simple is a 1984 American neo-noir crime film.

a quirky, twisted crime thriller

Blood Simple, released in 1984, is a quirky, twisted crime thriller.

a masterful noir that plays like it was made by a filmmaker at the top of Ethan Coen's craft, a crime thriller that both feels soothing in a crime thriller's calm pacing yet

Blood Simple is a masterful noir that plays like it was made by a filmmaker at the top of Ethan Coen's craft, a crime thriller that both feels soothing in a crime thriller's calm pacing yet is also unnerving for the very same reason.

a 1984 crime thriller film directed by Joel Coen

Blood Simple is a 1984 crime thriller film directed by Joel Coen.

a startling exercise in crime noir that, at times, passes as full-blown psychological horror

Co-written by both brothers and directed by Joel, Blood Simple is a startling exercise in crime noir that, at times, passes as full-blown psychological horror.

the debut of the Coen brothers and an exquisitely crafted crime thriller

A neo-noir masterpiece, Blood Simple is the debut of the Coen brothers and an exquisitely crafted crime thriller.

a beautifully crafted crime thriller

Blood Simple' is a beautifully crafted crime thriller, expressively celebrating the mystery and suspense of classic film noir.

an astonishing first film, a lean, vicious slice of noir that finds new ways to turn the screws on the screws's small cast of characters in every single scene

Blood Simple is an astonishing first film, a lean, vicious slice of noir that finds new ways to turn the screws on the screws's small cast of characters in every single scene.

a nice little dramatic thriller with some decent moments

, Blood Simple is a nice little dramatic thriller with some decent moments.

a twisty noir that will keep you guessing on where each of the members of this devilish triangle’s allegiances lie until the very bloody end

Blood Simple is a twisty noir that will keep you guessing on where each of the members of this devilish triangle’s allegiances lie until the very bloody end.

a masterful piece of neo-noir filmmaking that marked the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen

Blood Simple is a masterful piece of neo-noir filmmaking that marked the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen.

the earmarks — the title nods to detective novelist extraordinaire Dashiell Hammet’s Red Harvest — the Coens screw with the form, tossing in their own brand of verbal playfulness, like the now-classic Coen-ism of different characters repeating phrases of a classic noir

Blood Simple’s script has the earmarks of a classic noir — the title nods to detective novelist extraordinaire Dashiell Hammet’s Red Harvest — the Coens screw with the form, tossing in their own brand of verbal playfulness, like the now-classic Coen-ism of different characters repeating phrases.

a neo-noir crime thriller that has all early the hallmarks of what made the directors so successful

Marking a number of firsts — including being the first feature film performance from Frances McDormand and the directorial debut of the Coen brothers — 'Blood Simple' is a neo-noir crime thriller that has all early the hallmarks of what made the directors so successful.

a classic of neo-noir, full of visual economy and artful storytelling

Blood Simple, the Coen brothers' first film, is a classic of neo-noir, full of visual economy and artful storytelling.

as a high watermark in American independent cinema, a brilliantly plotted and scabrously funny thriller that tweaked the noir genre for a more knowing modern sensibility

But however arbitrary its re-release, Blood Simple stands as a high watermark in American independent cinema, a brilliantly plotted and scabrously funny thriller that tweaked the noir genre for a more knowing modern sensibility.

the fantastic neo-noir that announced the arrival of the Coen brothers as a fantastic talent to keep an eye on

Blood Simple is the fantastic neo-noir that announced the arrival of the Coen brothers as a fantastic talent to keep an eye on.