Blood Simple (1984)
A Texan bartender (John Getz) finds himself in the middle of a murder plot when the bar owner (Dan Hedaya) hires a sleazy private investigator ( M. Emmet Walsh) to find out if Getz is having an affair with his wife (Frances McDormand).
The brilliant debut film from the Coen Brothers is an extremely dark American Noir thriller with first rate acting. Dark in story and even darker in it's grizzly tone. As well as classic film noir the Coen's add elements of Hitchcock into the plot strands.
On the surface Blood Simple is a pitch black morality tale, or should i say immorality tale, but scrape a little deeper and the brooding atmosphere, Lewton-esq use of light and shadow and innovative stalking camera work not only increases the suspense but brings John Carpenter's Halloween to mind on multiple occasions, making this so much more than a mere thriller and edging it towards modern classic status.
The StudioCanal Blu-ray looks gorgeous. Having previously owned it on vhs and then dvd i never imagined it could look this good. Those neon signs really pop out of the darkness. Plenty of extras to wallow in too. Highly recommended.
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