Dark Blood (2012)

Directed by: George Sluizer
Country: USA / UK / Netherlands

Movie Review: “Dark Blood” is George Sluizer’s unfinished film from 1993, forced to be put on halt shortly before its end due to River Phoenix’s death related with drug abuse. The story follows the adventures of a Hollywood married couple, Buffy (Judy Davis) and Harry (Jonathan Pryce), on a car trip throughout the deserted landscapes of Arizona towards a romantic weekend scheduled to help fix their relationship. After their car breaks down, a widower young man named Boy (Phoenix) rescues them, offering his home and promising to drive them to St. John, the next closest city. But instead of being helpful, the strange and unbalanced Boy develops a huge attraction for Buffy and decides to keep the couple hostage. At first his intentions were shared by Buffy who had already shown some signs of dissatisfaction regarding her marriage. Halfway things get out of control, but instead of getting tense or provoking, the story slows down somehow. Despite a certain mood created, the plot wasn’t as strong as it might seem during the first 30 minutes. This statement nothing has to do with the fact of this film hasn’t been properly finished; the way that the plot was handled in the last part simply didn’t fascinate me. Even flawed and with an overused score, “Dark Blood” can be seen as an exercise with the missing parts composed by a voice-over, but it lacks many essential factors to become memorable.