Dark Blood
Dark Blood
| 06 March 2013 (USA)
Dark Blood Trailers

Filmed in 1993 but never completed due to River Phoenix's death, Dark Blood tells the story of Boy, a young widower living on a nuclear testing site in the desert. Boy is waiting for the end of the world and carves Katchina dolls that supposedly contain magical powers. Boy's solitude is interrupted when a Hollywood jet-set couple who are travelling across the desert become stranded after their car breaks down. The couple are rescued by Boy, who then holds them prisoner because of his desire for the woman and his ambition to create a better world with her.

Reviews
NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
redbirthdayletters This movie was the last one River Phoenix did. It is unfinished, yet hauntingly beautiful. Phoenix did a great job playing Boy, a young widower living in the desert on a nuclear testing site. The guy rescues a Hollywood couple whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Little did the couple knew that Boy wasn't as willing to help them as he sounded. The movie set was so beautiful and surreal, it was the perfect background for the conflict between the characters. I also found that the desert scenes painted the inner landscape of Boy's whose traumas were still eating at him. His inner world was reflected in the outside environment he built for himself, in his actions and his awkward thinking. I cried in the end because everything felt so real and believable. This movie can be watched by anyone who appreciates art and all the hard work that is put into bringing it on the screen.
ricardopthomaz What a movie I just saw!! Seriously, it's just an amazing and hypnotic experience! This movie was shot in 1993, mind you! All you see on screen was shot in that year. You can notice that Jonathan Pryce's hair is less gray than it really is today. Also, you got in the movie the strong and mesmerizing presence of the late River Phoenix, coming in a time capsule directly to the future to give us his mesmerizing swan song. Wow... freakin' wow!Great acting, a script that shines and beautiful backgrounds are the main attractions here. The story is told in the form of a road movie and the characters all goes through changes in their lives. The most powerful thing in the movie is its heart and soul. This is the engine that moves the narrative. As for it's body, it's unfortunately broken, for the lack of a better comparison. As the director George Sluizer states before the movie starts, this movie will always be like a three feet chair. It's slightly unbalanced, it misses something but with care, still stands on it's feet. With River Phoenix's death before the shooting process finishes, the director summarizes the missing fragments of the movie to us in order to complete the narrative. It works fine that way. In spirit, in heart and soul, this movie deserves a straight 10/10. With its broken, unfinished body, it takes a 8/10. If only they could finish it in time... but that from now on, until the end of times will only belong to our imagination, trying to figure out what it could have been. For what it is, it perfectly stands on it's feet. Must watch! Once again, thanks to the "37º Festival International de Cinema de São Paulo" in my city by the SESC institution of culture and development, I could enjoy another amazing flick!
lbabe29 George Sluizer's salvaged 1993 desert thriller Dark Blood is an uneasy but captivating watch. More than anything its a tantalising final glimpse into the talent of star River Phoenix, surly one of the most promising actors the world has ever seen. Rivers tragic and sudden death in the winter of 93 halted production and left the film missing many of its most crucial and inmate scenes. To overcome this director Sluizer can be heard reading the script amongst a mixture of stills and short clips. This method, whilst effective, is quite jarring and ultimately strange mainly due to Sluizers heavily accented, matter of fact voice which clash with the very intimate words and actions he is trying to get across. However we do get long periods where the film plays uninterrupted, its in these moments we get a sense of what a great movie this may have been. At times a classic Hollywood thriller and others a disturbing art house flick.Pryce and Judy Davis are pretty much note perfect as the bickering Hollywood couple. Pryce plays his character so well I would not be surprised if the role was written with him in mind.Its no secret that Judy Davis was a very difficult actress to work with not only for the director but also the actors. River in particular was targeted with many friends reporting he would call them in tears due to her hostile treatment towards him. Such was his misery that he personally asked Sluizer to delay the most intimate scenes between them till the last days of shooting (they were never completed). It is to both actors immense credit that this difficult working relationship never comes across on screen, the scenes between them burn with desire and feeling.Its impossible to talk about this film without really talking about River, even as you are watching the film, the tragedy that was to come is always there, playing on your mind. At only 23 River Phoenix was an Oscar nominated actor of incredible talent, grace and beauty. With the character of "Boy" he was able to display a side of him we had never seen before. He is terrifying, disturbing and dangerous but even in the throes of this madness that trademark sensitivity of Rivers shines through. He was a very special and incredibly gifted actor, and this film like all his prior performances have done before it, bear tribute to that.
Sebastian-20 I was really excited when in late 2011 George Sluizer announced that he was going to try to finish 'Dark Blood', some years after Sluizer had an aneurysm and learned that his remaining time was limited. I've heard of the difficulties surrounding the film, the legal complications and so on. So when it was announced that Mr Sluizer was going to raise money in order to be able to pay for the finishing of the film (the post-production: sound editing, editing, musical score, etc.) through Crowdfunding, I almost instantly donated some money through the CineCrowd website. In gratitude I received a very rare limited edition DVD, and some positive lit negatives inside the DVD-box. I was a bit surprised by the high quality of the footage, since it has not been used for 19 years or so. I know about the difficulties off set between River Phoenix and Judy Davis, and between Davis and the director. But it definitely doesn't show in the actual film. The acting is quite natural, and in my opinion the performances by River, Judy and Jonathan Pryce are pretty good. As I said before, the images are very clear, and the added sound effects and musical score are also in place here. The music at some points reminded me a bit of Pieter Bourke ans Lisa Gerrard's score for 'The Insider'. I'm not going to spoil anything or tell how it ends, but for me it was a rare chance to finally see this interesting project, and also River Phoenix' last film.
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