River Phoenix reborn on screen

River Phoenix’s final film will see the light of day 18 years after his sudden death.

Dutch director George Sluizer says he will finish Dark Blood, the 1993 drama Phoenix was shooting when he died of a heart attack on Halloween night outside the Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles.

Sluizer is said to have hid the footage from Dark Blood after Phoenix’ death because he thought it would be destroyed.

The film follows a man living on a nuclear test site waiting for the end of the world when a couple from L.A. show up a ask for shelter.

Phoenix’s brother Joaquin is said to be doing the film’s voiceover as River’s character Boy according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Phoenix was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actors before his death, with roles in acclaimed films such as Stand By Me, The Mosquito Coast, My Own Private Idaho, Running on Empty and Sneakers.