When he died in October 1993, River Phoenix was in the midst of filming Dark Blood, directed by George Sluizer and also starring Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis. After Phoenix’s death, production was halted and the film was shelved, unfinished.

Now, almost 20 years later, Sluizer and editor Michiel Reichwein have found a way to finish the film and they have started a Kickstarter-like campaign to get help with post-production funding so they can premiere it at the Dutch Film Festival this September.

Here’s Dark Blood‘s synopsis: “Dealing with nuclear testing and its long-lasting deadly effects, the story portrays Boy, a young widower living in the desert at 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 the Hollywood jet-set couple (Pryce & Davis) 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.”

A short trailer has been put together to give fans and potential investors a taste of what’s to come.

About the Author

Kelly Stitzel

After shutting down her own blog, Looking at Them, in mid-2008, Kelly migrated over to Popdose, bringing with her Soundtrack Saturday, the most popular column from her old site. Kelly makes a living as a fashion and marketing copywriter, which takes up a lot of her time. However, when she is able to write about things that have nothing to do with her day job, she contributes reviews and musings on music, film and a variety of other topics. In addition to Soundtrack Saturday, columns she's written include Filminism and Pulling Rank.

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