River Phoenix's final film will make North American debut

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LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - River Phoenix's final film, "Dark Blood," is premiering in North America at the 30th annual Miami International Film Festival, MIFF executive director Jaie Laplante announced Tuesday.

Phoenix, the older brother of Oscar-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix ("The Master"), died of a drug overdose in 1993 when he was 23. He had completed 80 percent of director George Sluizer's psychological thriller, which was finished just last year before world premiering at the Dutch Film Festival in the fall.

Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis co-star in the film as a couple whose car breaks down in the desert while on a second honeymoon that they hope will save their marriage. They find shelter with Phoenix's character, but he ends up keeping them as prisoners while he seduces Davis -- an act that doesn't exactly sit well with her husband and leads to tragedy.

"‘Dark Blood' is a film of legend, one of Hollywood's great mysteries," Laplante said in a statement. "The tragic loss of River Phoenix's outstanding talent is still profoundly felt 20 years later. We are proud that George Sluizer has honored Miami as the place to finally share his remarkable collaboration with Phoenix and the other great artists involved with ‘Dark Blood.'"

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