10 Blatantly Unfinished Movies (That Were Released Anyway)

Even prior to his tragically early passing, River Phoenix’s filmography was pock-marked by unfinished projects which were nonetheless released to a trusting public. Chief amongst these was Joe Dante’s Gremlins follow-up Explorers, a suburban coming-of-age sci-fi adventure which could have been remembered alongside E.T and Back to the Future as a timeless eighties classic.

You know, if it had been finished.

Dante had big plans for the film, including an entire third act which the spendthrift production was unfortunately too cheap to finance, leaving the director still wishing he had another shot at the flick to this day. Despite a great cast including Phoenix and a young Ethan Hawke, the rushed and unfinished film tanked at the box office where it faced stiff competition from the likes of Back to the Future.

The film could have included an interesting sub plot about the protagonist’s family and “theories about spiritual stuff” according to Dante, but instead ended with a sloppily re-dubbed scene whose footage was repurposed as a flat, uninspired finale.