River Phoenix. Wasn’t he grand? From Stand by Me to Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, He was a magnetic presence on screen. One of the most desirable and sought after stars in the industry, and the victim of a tragic overdose of cocaine and heroin that cost him his life at the age of 23. That was on October 31, 1993.
At the time of his death, Phoenix was filming an independent drama in Utah, entitled Dark Blood. The Dutch director of the film, George Sluizer, had completed just over 80 percent of the film when Phoenix died. At that point, he shelved it and left it. Now, nearly 20 years later, there is a completed version of the film that will debut in late September at the Netherlands Film Festival.
Sluizer is presently suffering from an illness that triggered his desire to pull the footage out and work it into a finished feature. Even with various pieces of the script missing from the capture process, Sluizer felt that he could piece together an intriguing story.
A quick synopsis of the film as found on George Sluizer’s website:
Dealing with nuclear testing and its long-lasting deadly effects, the story portrays Boy, a young widower living in the desert on a nuclear testing site. Living as a hermit,he waits for the end of the world carving Katchina dolls that he believes have magical powers. While traveling on a “second” honeymoon across the Arizona desert,the car of a Hollywood jet-set couple breaks down. They are rescued by Boy, who holds them prisoners because he desires the woman and wants to create a better world with her.
