What is it about the neo-noir genre that attracts first-time filmmakers? Is it that the genre is minimalistic in nature, necessitating a well-constructed script and exceptional performances over high production value? Or is it because bad guys with guns and sexy ladies are cool? Either might be the case for the Coen brothers and their debut film, Blood Simple. Even though the brothers raised funds for the production by going door-to-door and used an array of homemade camera rigs, with a few tips from their friend Sam Raimi, Blood Simple doesn’t feel like a cheap film. It helps that they managed to cast the likes of John Getz, Dan Hedaya and the legendary M. Emmet Walsh, who encapsulates the kind of demented let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may type of character the Coen brothers are well-known for.

Blood Simple presents a seemingly standard murder-for-hire plot, which doesn’t go exactly as planned, as is to be expected from a Coen brothers film. Walsh’s slimy private detective Loren is hired by Marty (Hedaya) to spy on and eventually kill his cheating wife Abby (McDormand) and her lover Ray (Getz). But, of course, no one is to be trusted and every character manages to underestimate each other. Bodies pile up.