Just Before Dawn (1981)

Eerie. Creepy. Bleak. Wilderness slasher horror. Jeff Lieberman's «Just Before Dawn» is a somewhat overlooked slasher movie, but it is the quintessential of what a slasher movie should be. In my early teens (mid-eighties) my friends and I used to watch this gem over and over and over. As much as it scared us, we really loved it. The plot is pretty basic: Five campers (you got the stereotypes, the hunk, the babe, the geek etc.) go to some red neck mountaintop to indulge in youthful ... whatever, despite ignoring several warnings from the local forest ranger («there's demons in the forest» - which turns out to be some inbred, mutant hillbilly maniac killers). Of course the loonie mountain men stalk the campers. And then the fun begins. No, it's not «Seven» or «Zodiac». It's a low budget slasher movie from 1981, but it still stands the test of time. Think «The Texas Chainsaw Massascre meets «Deliverance» and «The Hills Have Eyes». The soundtrack is bleak, low key and blends natural with the forest sounds to create a dark, sinister mood. The acting is pretty solid, and the machete swinging killers are your worst nightmare. 8 stars out of 10.

Five campers arrive in the mountains to examine some property they have bought, but are warned by the forest ranger Roy McLean (George Kennedy) that a huge machete-wielding maniac has been terrorizing the area. Ignoring the warnings, they set up camp, and start disappearing one by one.What this film has going for it is a decent cast of young actors, some of whom (particularly Gregg Henry) have gone on to do bigger and better things. And we have a pair of older, experienced actors: Kennedy and the amazing Mike Kellin ("Sleepaway Camp"), who really should have done more horror films.Director Jeff Lieberman ("Squirm") claims he never saw "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" or "The Hills Have Eyes" before shooting this film. While this seems very strange for a man working in horror, it really does not matter, as anyone who sees those films as being an influence on this one is just trying too hard. This is a plain old slasher: kids in the woods, guy with a machete.Being released in 1981, Lieberman deserves credit for getting on the slasher wave early. While not the first by a long shot, his film did not get released long after Jason Voorhees hit the screen (there is about a five month difference). Slasher fans will need to see this, but everyone else has better options.For what it is worth, though, this is superior to the similarly-themed "Final Terror" (1983).

This 1981 horror film stars George Kennedy, Deborah Benson, Gregg Henry, Chris Lemmon, Jamie Rose, Ralph Seymour and John Hunsaker. This tells of 5 friends, Constance (Benson), Warren (Henry), Jonathan (Lemmon), Megan (Rose) and Daniel (Seymour) who head to the wilderness to camp. Kennedy (The Naked Gun) plays Roy, a forest ranger who warns them that it's unsafe and should go back where they came. Of course, they don't listen and go anyway. Soon, they're hunted by a crazed killer (Hunsaker) until Roy comes to the rescue. This is one of the most underrated slashers following in the footsteps of "Friday the 13th" with nice, remote settings and an eerie score. It's not bad and I recommend checking it out if you're a fan of the genre.

*Minor spoiler* Just Before Dawn has a decent cult following and I can see why. It's easy to see why movies like Wrong Turn were heavily influenced by it. Is it original? Not really. It has echoes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre & The Hills Have Eyes, but it's awfully stylish and manages to have a mind of It's own. I can't get over the fantastic cinematography. The scenery is mind blowing at times, with a beautiful waterfall situated around a lake that we see many times throughout the movie. It made for a very unique atmosphere. Don't expect many gory deaths in this one. Aside from the opening where a guy gets killed with a machete in his crotch area, this movie isn't about gore. It's all about suspense, and boy does it have a lot of it. The Killers in this one are deformed and very twisted. They don't just wanna murder people; they like to toy with their victims in the most frightening ways imaginable. It also helps that these aren't disposable Slasher victims like you usually see. I actually cared about a couple of the characters. It was really great to see some character development here. George Kennedy is NOT the main character here. He has a rather thankless role which I assume was for a paycheck. I managed to enjoy him anyway. Deborah Benson is excellent as the female lead. Her acting chops are a cut above the usual Slasher role. She was vulnerable, yet willfully strong at the same time. She had many qualities that Amy Steele had in Friday The 13th Part 2. Gregg Henry is also very good as her boyfriend. He was charismatic and I managed to relate with him easy. Chris Lemon (Jack Lemon's son) shows up as wellFinal Thoughts: This isn't talked about nearly enough for my liking. It's pretty damn good for a slasher in the 80's. It is suspenseful and even scary at times. See it if you can find it7/10