Breaking up is hard

Dead in the heart of Texas


In the first film of brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, M. Emmett Walsh plays Visser, an unscrupulous private eye hired by Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya) to murder Marty's faithless wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and her paramour, Ray (John Getz), one of Marty's employees. But Visser is no more up-front with Marty than with anyone else; he makes some slight modifications of the original plan so that it better serves his own best interests. After a surprise double-cross and the murder of one of the important players, matters spiral out of control, and the plot gyrates through a complicated string of darkly humorous events. False assumptions, guilt, and fear all lead to a frantic attempt to conceal evidence and the heart-pounding, irony-filled denouement. Blood Simple was re-released in the summer of 2000 with a digitally-remastered soundtrack and -- at the Coens' behest -- a few minutes of dialogue trimmed.


Blood Simple is a 1984 neo-noir crime film written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film's title derives from the Dashiell Hammett novel Red Harvest, in which "blood simple" is a term to describe the addled, fearful mindset of people after a prolonged immersion in violent situations.[1]

It was the directorial debut of the Coens and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director, as well as the feature film debut of Joel Coen's wife Frances McDormand, who subsequently starred in many of his features.

In 2001, a "Director's cut" DVD was released. It ranked #98 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills. The film also placed #73 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), the owner of a Texas bar, suspects his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with one of his bartenders, Ray (John Getz). Marty hires private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to take photos of Ray and Abby in bed at a local motel. The morning after their tryst, Marty makes a menacing phone call to them, making it clear he is aware of their relationship.

The following day, Ray confronts Marty and quits his job. Marty threatens Ray's life and advises him to not trust Abby. Marty then hires Visser to kill the couple while he takes a fishing trip to Corpus Christi to establish an alibi. Visser breaks into Ray's home, steals Abby's gun, and photographs the sleeping couple through the bedroom window. Later, he presents doctored photos of their corpses to Marty when collecting his $10,000 fee. He then shoots Marty with Abby's gun in a double cross, leaving the gun at the scene to frame Abby for Marty's murder.

Later that evening, Ray returns to the bar and, finding a seemingly dead Marty and Abby's gun, assumes Abby murdered her husband. He decides to cover up the murder, cleaning up the blood and disposing of evidence in a backyard incinerator. Ray drives to a remote field and digs a hole to dispose of Marty's body, but discovers that Marty is still alive. He throws Marty in the hole and buries him alive. Afterward, Ray calls Abby and she thanks him for calling her in the morning, but he misinterprets this as her gratitude for his role in Marty's murder.

Visser burns the doctored photos but realizes one is missing, having been locked in the bar's safe by Marty. Visser also realizes that he left his cigarette lighter in Marty's office. Meanwhile, Ray visits Abby and tells her "I cleaned up your mess," not realizing that she does not know what Ray is talking about. Ray assumes Abby is being coy, and they begin to argue. They are interrupted by a telephone call from Visser, who says nothing. Abby assumes that Marty is calling her and tells Ray. However, Ray assumes Abby is lying and storms out.

Confused by Ray's behavior, Abby goes to the bar to find it ransacked; Visser had been trying to break into the safe, but was interrupted by Abby's arrival. Observing the scene, Abby now thinks that Ray killed Marty because of a money dispute. She accuses him of this the next time they meet, but he explains that he found her gun at the bar and that he buried Marty alive. Ray returns once more to the bar and opens the safe, finding Visser's faked photo. He realizes he is being followed as he leaves for Abby's apartment.

When Abby arrives home that night, she turns on a light and finds Ray looking out the large window. He tells Abby to turn off the light because someone is watching them from across the street. Abby thinks Ray is threatening her, and turns the light back on. Visser is on a nearby roof with a rifle and, seeing Ray in the window, shoots him dead. Realizing Ray was right, Abby knocks out the light. She hides in the bathroom just as Visser arrives. Visser goes to the bathroom to kill Abby, who is not there. Reaching out the window, he opens the window to the next room, but Abby slams it down on his wrist and drives a knife through his hand. Visser shoots holes through the wall, punches through, and removes the knife. Abby retreats and waits behind the bathroom door, holding a gun.

As Visser is about to emerge, she fires through the door, hitting Visser. "I'm not afraid of you, Marty," Abby says. Visser, lying on the bathroom floor, mortally wounded, suddenly bursts into laughter. He says: "Well, ma'am, if I see 'im, I'll sure give 'im the message."

Release Date: January 18, 1985

Distrib: Cinecom

Boxoffice: $2,150,000 2014: $4,820,800