“If you shoot someone, you better make sure he’s dead”

Andie’s Rating: Out, out damned spot!

Andie’s Review: Okay, so recently the American Film Institute released their list of “100 Years, 100 Thrills.” And at Blockbuster we were talking about which ones we’d seen and it turns out I haven’t seen nearly as many as I thought I would have. So I rented a couple and started working my way through some of them. Blood Simple is the first one I rented.

It’s an early Coen brothers movie and tells the tale of Marty the bar owner (Dan Hedaya) discovering his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) is sleeping with one of his bartenders, Roy (John Getz). So he asks the PI who did the snooping into the affair to kill them both. Except the PI decides to just make it look like the two of them are dead and take the money and shoot Marty. What ensues is a twisted little thriller about double-crossing and murder and all sorts of fun stuff like that.

This movie certainly isn’t for the squeamish. I’m pretty tough when it comes to blood and gore and the like, but there were a few parts that had me cringing. There’s a particularly gruesome field scene that doesn’t really even involve blood and guts, but it’ll still leave you feeling a little sick to your stomach. It’s amazing what a human being will do when they think they’re keeping themselves or someone else out of trouble.

I can see why this is on the list because there were some decent scares in it. I jumped a couple times and the whole ending climax scene is done wonderfully. It’s suspenseful and creepy and really puts you on the edge of your seat. Most of what made this movie so scary for me was the music. I don’t know what it is, but the recurring theme in the movie is very disturbing. It reminds me a little of the scary-ass music in Halloween.

Anyway, Blood Simple is a good thriller. It’s not my favorite Coen brothers work, but it’s definitely a must-see for fans of the genre or fans of their movies in general.