10 Blatantly Unfinished Movies (That Were Released Anyway)

Like a lot of this list, this production was plagued by tragedy, and the resultant film is surprisingly solid, if clearly unfinished. The terrific actor River Phoenix, star of Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho, passed away at a young age before the production of Dark Blood could be completed, leaving the film to be shelved for over a decade.

Despite this, the deeply unsettling thriller helmed by The Vanishing director George Sluizer eventually saw the light of day via a recut edit which was released in 2012. The film sees Phoenix play a disturbed widower who tortures an older couple in the desert, putting them through horrific trials as he mentally deteriorates. Reviews were kind to the film as a curio, given the circumstances of its creation, but the release was clearly unfinished, and gives the movie a choppy, uneven tone and inconsistent narrative momentum.

Despite this, the film is well-remembered as a tribute to its late star, and his co-star Jonathan Pryce would go on to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar the same year Phoenix’s brother Joaquin won for Joker and dedicated his win to his brother.