Just Before Dawn 1982

Jeff Lieberman's 1982 backwoods slasher Just Before Dawn is one of those needles in the haystack. You know it's there, but you truly don't appreciate it until after you've stuck yourself with it. What sets this film apart from the majority of 80's backwoods slasher attempts is the location, alongside some very likable characters. Besides this, all of them can act. Plus, anything with George Kennedy gets a few points already.


Spoilers Below

We have a film filled with beautiful and creepy imagery. It's doused with certain charms that one can't explain, giving it that extra oomph that a film like this needs. Leiberman went out on a limb with Just Before Dawn and succeeded for the most part. Sadly, this film had gotten nowhere near the recognition it deserved over the years (as with The Final Terror), but not too long ago, Media Blasters released a special edition 2 disc set packed with extra features. To be honest, I was hoping for better picture quality. I don't even think it's the infinitive uncut print.

Anyway, we have a very eerie opening scene that involves two hunters in an abandoned church. They just happen to be smack dab in the middle of nowhere, with trees and landscape as far as you can see. They're standing in the church (which happens to have a strategically placed hole in the roof) bragging about their kill when the older hunter sees this huge man staring down at him. He gets freaked out, goes outside to check things out, but leaves his nephew Vachel inside. After a minute or two, Vachel turns to follow his Uncle outside, when the same face we saw staring down at them leaps out from behind a door and violently stabs Vachel through the genital area.

This scene made me jump. BUT, how could the same guy that was on the roof be inside? He's not Jason Vorhees, he can't be in two places at once, right?
We soon learn as one of the campers is walking across a rope bridge that there's actually two of these giants. Yep, their twins. Crazy inbred, machete carrying twins. They make some very menacing 'killers'. They seem to have the mind of a three year old and have no real grasp on reality. Wrong or right. Lacking morality and conscious makes anyone become more menacing.

Anyway, what we get is the normal slasher facade - campers partying. Campers talking. Campers getting spooked a few times (Especially in one scene that involves a couple swimming.)
To cut it short, if you're a slasher fan of the 80's, Just Before Dawn has enough of every element to make it work. Appreciate the lush cinematography (although the Media Blaster print has a foggy 'haze' all the way through it) and serious approach to the otherwise cheese filled cavities we see in most low budget slasher movies.