River Phoenix’s The Dark Blood, was well received when it was released in 2012. But why did it take George Sluizer almost 20 years to finish it?
Dark Blood is the last movie River Phoenix starred in but it took nearly 20 years for the movie to be released. Directed by George Sluizer, Dark Blood is a thriller that stars Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce as a married couple who are about to set off on their second honeymoon. However, problems soon arise when their car breaks down in the middle of the desert and they run into a "helpful" widower (Phoenix), who is later revealed to be hiding a dark side. Overall, Dark Blood was received well on its first release at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2012 and has achieved an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
River Phoenix has a vast filmography and became a star as a child for his performance in Stand By Me. Following this, Phoenix has starred in well-known movies such as Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and My Own Private Idaho. Sadly, Phoenix died at the young age of 23 due to a drug overdose (via Far Out Magazine) but he is still remembered as a prominent figure in Hollywood, especially with what he achieved in such a short time. Phoenix was filming Dark Blood at the time of his death and usually, movies recast characters when their actors die, but this was not the case with Dark Blood.
Dark Blood Was Incomplete & Involved In Legal Disputes
Phoenix’s tragic death occurred when Dark Blood’s filming was incomplete and Phoenix still had some major scenes left to film. Production halted when Phoenix died and when insurers and financiers decided it was impossible to complete Dark Blood without Phoenix, it was abandoned. Movies often recast main characters when their actor dies but this is costly and sometimes directors do not want to replace their chosen actor which was the case with Sluzier and Phoenix. Plus, with a budget of under $10 million (via Variety), even CGI was not an option to finish Dark Blood. Instead, all the footage for Dark Blood was stored away and the movie was rendered unfinished.
Phoenix’s death was the sole reason for Dark Blood taking so long to complete, but it sparked legal disputes which kept it unreleased. The insurance company impounded the Dark Blood footage, making it inaccessible and presumably taking possession of the rights to the negatives. Without the negatives or the rights, it would be impossible to complete Dark Blood even if Sluzier wanted to, which he did not, and it meant Dark Blood was hidden away for decades before its release.
River Phoenix's Final Movie Was Almost Destroyed Completely
There was a chance that Dark Blood was never released at all. In 1999, the insurance company decided they no longer wanted to pay to hold on to the negatives and made the decision to destroy them. When Sluzier found out about this, he personally went and saved Dark Blood only days before it was due to be destroyed. Although Sluzier rescued Dark Blood in 1999, Phoenix’s swan song still did not release for another 13 years and this was partly because Sluzier was busy directing other movies.
However, in 2010, Sluzier suffered from an aneurysm when he was 81 becoming seriously ill and unable to walk. Sluzier explained that “the only thing I could do was edit” which encouraged him to edit Dark Blood (via The Skinny). Sluzier edited the material, added a score, and filled in the scenes missing with his own narration which meant the story was as complete as it could be. Dark Blood was finally released in 2012, 19 years after filming, although it was shown for free due to legal rights around distribution. Dark Blood struggled with tragedy and complications starting with Phoenix’s death, but he can now be memorialized in his final movie.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Far Out Magazine, Variety, The Skinny
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