River Phoenix's Final Film Will Be Released

It's an event that invokes memories of a tragedy. River Phoenix's final film will be released just over twenty years after his death, which was tragic and far too-soon. The film, Dark Blood, was acquired by Lionsgate, which has plans to release the film on demand.

The film, which features Phoenix as a young man who sojourns to the desert after his wife dies from radiation poisoning, has actually been in limbo since 1993, when Phoenix died of a drug overdose at The Viper Room. The Oscar nominee was just twenty three when he died from a dangerous combination of a "speedball" of heroin and cocaine mixed into a drink, followed by a valium chaser. He was actually in production for Dark Blood at the time, and ever since, the film has remained in flux, and many expected it to never see the light of day.

The film's release is a reminder of his sad tale, and how unfortunately, so many promising young actors see their lives cut short on account of drugs. We see it too frequently; look no further than Corey Monteith's death, which hard to believe it, was nearly a year ago.

And over twenty years after Phoenix's passing, we're still able to recount how radiating his talent was; he was certainly a star on the rise. This film will only confirm that, and hopefully, help continue to bring the discussion of addiction and foul play with illegal substances to the forefront.

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