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Blood Simple poster

Movies that feel likeBlood Simple (1985)

The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.

If you loved Blood Simple, the closest films we have are Miller's Crossing (1990), Red Rock West (1993) and The Hit (1984). All three share Blood Simple's gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Across 110th Street (1972).

πŸ… 94% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Joel Coengrittycontemplativetense
5 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel

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If Blood Simple hit the spot, these will too

Miller's Crossing poster
Miller's Crossing
1990 Β· dir. Joel Coen
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.7drama Β· thriller Β· crime

Joel Coen working the same nerve twice

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 Β· dir. John Dahl
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7crime Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: money

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Blood Simple

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

The Hit poster
The Hit
1984 Β· dir. Stephen Frears
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7drama Β· thriller Β· crimePrime Video

Both land grit and stillness at once

Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

Caliber 9 poster
Caliber 9
1972 Β· dir. Fernando Di Leo
β˜… 7.4crime Β· thriller

Crime with a pulse of tension, in both cases

Just out of prison, ex-con Ugo Piazza meets his former employer, a psychopathic gangster Rocco who enjoys sick violence and torture. Both the gangsters and the police believe Ugo has hidden $300,000 that should have gone to an American drug syndicate boss.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle poster
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1973 Β· dir. Peter Yates
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Gritty drama in both cases

An aging hood is about to go back to prison. Hoping to escape his fate, he supplies information on stolen guns to the feds, while simultaneously supplying arms to his bank robbing chums.

Across 110th Street poster
Across 110th Street
1972 Β· dir. Barry Shear
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7crime Β· drama Β· thrillerPrime Video

Both lean on stillness more than on thriller

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

36th Precinct poster
36th Precinct
2004 Β· dir. Olivier Marchal
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Crime built on tension, twice over

In Paris, two cops are competing for the vacant job of chief of police, in the middle of the search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the French police before creating this story, taken in part from real events of the 1980s.

Traffic poster
Traffic
2000 Β· dir. Steven Soderbergh
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5thriller Β· drama Β· crime

Gritty drama, and it commits to that

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

A Time to Kill poster
A Time to Kill
1996 Β· dir. Joel Schumacher
πŸ… 66%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama Β· thriller

From the 1990s, and it lands the same way

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

Infernal Affairs poster
Infernal Affairs
2002 Β· dir. Alan Mak Siu-Fai
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8drama Β· thriller Β· crimeMax

Both lean on tension more than on crime

Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.

The Bank Job poster
The Bank Job
2008 Β· dir. Roger Donaldson
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.2thriller Β· crime Β· dramaPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: double cross

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

Terry is a small-time car dealer trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Martine is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighbourhood who knows that Terry is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a bank, Terry recognises the danger but realises this may be the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Experiment poster
The Experiment
2001 Β· dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.7drama Β· thriller

Drama in the same key

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

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The best-reviewed films that share Blood Simple’s defining feeling.