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 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. The film premiered to an invited audience on September 27, 2012, at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. It had its international premiere out of competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival. Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, 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 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 2012 films 2012 thriller drama films American thriller drama 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