''Dark Blood'' is a 2012 American-
Dutch thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
directed by
George Sluizer, written by Jim Barton, and starring
River Phoenix,
Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both List of Judy Davis performances, screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses ...
, and
Jonathan Pryce
Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...
. Production on the film was halted due to the death of Phoenix in 1993, shortly before the end of the project (it would also be the final film made by Sluizer) and remained unfinished for 19 years. It was the last film to feature River Phoenix and the only film in which Phoenix portrayed a villain.
It premiered to a private guest audience on September 27, 2012 at the
Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival () is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.
During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Besides feature films, the prog ...
in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The film was shown twice more, publicly, on October 2, 2012 at the festival. It was shown at the
63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2013, the
Miami International Film Festival
The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a smaller Fall Festival, known as the Miami Film Festival GEMS, which presents ...
in March 2013, the
Split Film Festival in September 2013, and the
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (, ) was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, eve ...
in April 2014. On January 26, 2018, ''Dark Blood'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in Germany.
The film follows Boy (Phoenix), a young widower, who retreats to the desert after his wife dies of
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...
following
nuclear tests near their home. Boy is waiting for the end of the world and carves
Kachina dolls, believing they contain magical powers. A couple, Harry (Pryce) and Buffy (Davis) travel to the desert on a second honeymoon in an attempt to save their marriage. Their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and the couple is rescued by Boy. Boy holds them prisoner because of his desire for Buffy and his ambition to create a better world with her.
Plot
The movie begins with Harry, an actor who hasn't worked in over a year, and his wife Buffy, an ex-showgirl, traveling by car on their "second honeymoon". After staying overnight at a motel, the owner informs Harry of previous nuclear testing taking place in the town. The following day, their Bentley eventually breaks down, leading them to run out of water in the middle of the desert. Harry insists on staying with the car rather than to look for help. While Harry sleeps in the back seat, Buffy notices a light in the distance and follows it, leading her to the front door of a cabin belonging to a widower named Boy. He drives with her to rescue Harry. After mentioning he is one-eighth Hopi Native American, Boy reveals a cave filled with candles and voodoo dolls that he believes have magical powers, which he spends his time making while waiting for the world to end.
During their stay, Boy promises to drive them to the nearest town, but keeps delaying this offer by dismantling the entire engine of his truck after telling the couple there's a problem with it, and later telling them he is waiting for friends to arrive before he can take them to town. His friends, meanwhile have been told by Boy where to find their Bentley and they tow it away. Buffy and Boy become attracted to each other, angering Harry. Harry tells Boy to leave her alone while on a shooting hunt. The two have an argument and Boy retreats, leaving Harry to find his way back from the desert. Boy later fires a shot at Harry, but tells him he was shooting a snake in a passive-aggressive gesture. Eventually, the couple become aware that Boy will not let them leave. Exasperated, Harry announces he is walking to the town and marches off alone. After an argument with Buffy, Boy drives off frustrated, finds Harry dehydrated, gives him water and brings him back to the cabin where Boy locks Harry in a barn, telling Buffy he's gone mad from the heat.
Later on, as they are all sleeping, Harry wakes silently, rouses Buffy and steals the keys to Boy's truck in an escape attempt that is quickly thwarted by Boy who catches them as they are leaving his cabin. A fight ensues and after hitting him with a crowbar, Harry is judged by means of a
kangaroo court
Kangaroo court is an informal pejorative term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court ma ...
, and ordered to chop wood as punishment. As he is cutting the wood, he sees Buffy removing her clothes and is forced to overhear as his wife is raped, turning his back, unable to watch. Buffy later comes outside to tell Harry that Boy is finally taking them to the town. Boy's friends approach, bringing the repaired Bentley, and Boy announces only Harry can leave in his car. Outraged, Harry attacks Boy with the axe, only for Boy to block the axe's blow with his rifle above his head. However, unable to withstand Harry's strength, the axe hits Boy, splitting open his head and knocking him to the ground. Acting in self-defence, Harry is forced to fatally wound Boy's dog when it tries to attack him. Boy gets to his feet, telling Harry that he has never wanted to kill a man before, his finger on the trigger of the rifle. Harry begs for his life, but Boy then collapses from the bleeding head wound.
At that moment the couple's car is delivered by Boy's native friends, who take Boy inside the cabin, where he requests to see Buffy. As his last physical effort, he lifts himself to embrace her, dying in her arms as Harry is held at gunpoint outside. Buffy exits and the couple's fate is up to Boy's friends, one of whom is a sheriff - but, despite the crime, the two are told to leave immediately in their car. Boy's friends set the cabin ablaze as a
funeral pyre
A pyre (; ), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire.
In discussi ...
.
Harry and Buffy drive along out of the desert disoriented, exhausted and silent. They hold hands and Harry asks Buffy if she's okay. She replies that she is not as she glances back at the fire's glow. The couple fall silent again.
Cast
*
River Phoenix as Boy
*
Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both List of Judy Davis performances, screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses ...
as Buffy Fletcher
*
Jonathan Pryce
Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...
as Harry Fletcher
*
Karen Black
Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portr ...
as Motel Woman
* T. Dan Hopkins as Joe Tapesi
* Lorne Miller as Mechanic / Motel Woman's Son
*
Julius Drum as
Indian #1
*
John Trudell
John Trudell (February 15, 1946December 8, 2015) was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as ''Rad ...
as Indian #2
*
Rodney A. Grant as Indian #3
*
George Aguilar as Indian #4
*
Stephen Silberkraus as The Fletcher's Son
*
George Sluizer as Narrator
Production
''Dark Blood'' began shooting September 21, 1993 and consisted of roughly five weeks of on location shooting in
Torrey, Utah and was scheduled to complete three weeks of filming interior scenes in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
on a sound stage. Parts of the film were also shot in
Gallup, New Mexico
Gallup is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States, with a population of 21,899 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A substantial percentage of its population is Native Americans in the United States, Native American, wi ...
. There is a scene shot at
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park is a national park of the United States and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, and the only World Heritage Site in Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloa ...
in
Montezuma County, Colorado
Montezuma County is a county located in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,849. The county seat is Cortez, Colorado, Cortez. Montezuma County contains m ...
. The film had a budget of under $10 million.
[ Filming was 80% finished before Phoenix's death on October 31, 1993. Production halted while insurers and financiers tried to determine if the movie could be completed, but with important scenes still needing to be shot, the film was abandoned on November 18 of that same year. The film was due to be released in the United States by ]Fine Line Features
Fine Line Features was the specialty films division of New Line Cinema. From 1991 to 2005, under founder and president Ira Deutchman, Fine Line acquired, distributed and marketed independent films. In 2005, New Line teamed up with fellow Time W ...
and by New Line
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995
* "New" (Daya song), 2017
* "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
internationally. For the 2012 release, roughly four to six missing scenes were replaced with Sluizer providing narration.
It was revealed in October 2011 that director George Sluizer had held onto the footage, fearing it would be destroyed, and that he had reedited the material and believed that with some adjustments a completed film could be released in 2012. In 1999 the insurance company that owned the negatives wanted to stop paying storage costs, so they considered having the film destroyed. Sluizer entered the storage area that held the negative and removed it. It was speculated that Sluizer would ask Phoenix's younger brother Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...
to dub River's voice. The Phoenix family made it clear that they would not participate in the project, saying in a statement, "In regard to releasing River's last film, Joaquin Phoenix and his family have not been in communication with the director nor will they participate in any way.”[
On May 18, 2012, a trailer for the film and an interview with Sluizer were released on ]YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. The film premiered to an invited audience on September 27, 2012, at the Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival () is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.
During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Besides feature films, the prog ...
in Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
, Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. It had its international premiere out of competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.
A regioncode free DVD (in English with optional German subtitles) was released in Germany in January 2018 by Missing Films.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film received four positive reviews and one negative one, for a score of 80%, with an average rating of 6/10.
Geoffrey Macnab from ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave the film three out of five stars, stating that "''Dark Blood'' is fragmentary, uneven and downright odd in parts but it also has huge curiosity value. The director's solution for bridging the considerable gaps is to read out descriptions of what is missing. It's a simple but surprisingly effective tactic. His narration ensures that the film is just about coherent." Ard Vijn from '' Twitch'' says the movie is "almost polished enough to be regarded as a finished film. Almost. The images, music and actors definitely make watching it a worthwhile exercise."
References
External links
*
BBC article 8 October 2012 on the film
*
{{George Sluizer
2012 films
2012 thriller films
American thriller films
Dutch drama films
Films directed by George Sluizer
1990s unfinished films
Films shot in Utah
Films shot in New Mexico
2012 drama films
2010s English-language films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
2010s American films
English-language thriller films