5 Movies That Magically Brought Their Stars Back From The Dead
3. Dark Blood Finally Came Out Twenty Years After River Phoenix's Death Thanks To A Voice Over
Before the age of CGI the death of an actor was pretty much the end of any project they were working on. When River Phoenix famously overdosed in the Viper Room in 1993, his last project, George Sluizers Dark Blood, was stuck 80% completed without a leading actor (and there was no Crow-like budget to body double him). Out of respect the film was shelved and became a mythical feature we all accepted would never see. As the years went by, rumours of an attempt to finish it began to creep out, the most ridiculous being Rivers younger brother Joaquin coming in to voice the missing, essential scenes. By hook or by crook the rumours turned out to be true; it turns out the film, which tells the story of Phoenix's widower taking some lost travellers hostage, had been sitting in Sluizers possession the whole time, who had been slowly working away in hopes of finishing the movie. And, in a move that is either painfully simple or simply genius, the director just added in his own voice over for the key parts he never got to shot. Finally premiering twenty years after production started, Dark Blood got mixed reviews. Coherent as a story and with some interesting directorial choices, the film never could escape its label as a curio.
Before the age of CGI the death of an actor was pretty much the end of any project they were working on. When River Phoenix famously overdosed in the Viper Room in 1993, his last project, George Sluizers Dark Blood, was stuck 80% completed without a leading actor (and there was no Crow-like budget to body double him). Out of respect the film was shelved and became a mythical feature we all accepted would never see. As the years went by, rumours of an attempt to finish it began to creep out, the most ridiculous being Rivers younger brother Joaquin coming in to voice the missing, essential scenes. By hook or by crook the rumours turned out to be true; it turns out the film, which tells the story of Phoenix's widower taking some lost travellers hostage, had been sitting in Sluizers possession the whole time, who had been slowly working away in hopes of finishing the movie. And, in a move that is either painfully simple or simply genius, the director just added in his own voice over for the key parts he never got to shot. Finally premiering twenty years after production started, Dark Blood got mixed reviews. Coherent as a story and with some interesting directorial choices, the film never could escape its label as a curio.