JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981)
Directed by Jeff Leiberman
Platinum DVD
Reviewed 08.03.04
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba

THE FILM
Take a look: A winnebago full of young people. Dense forests. A behemoth hillbilly killer with a machete. Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass.” Slap me silly and call me sappy -- I’ve just witnessed one of the best slashers ever made.

As fellow lovers of slasher cinema know, it’s often hard to startle a person that’s viewed oodles of frightening films. Whether it’s a desensitization to all things spooky, or just a growth into comforting glee at watching your favorite monsters tear up the screen, sincere shudders are one in a million. Take me for instance. I can count the number of films on one adult-hand that have caused me to look over my shoulder before turning in for a good night’s sleep. That’s why Just Before Dawn was so exciting. Maybe it was the overcast weather, or maybe it was just that I was in the mood for a slinky old slasher. I don’t know. Regardless of the reasoning, a new notch has been carved on my short list of Horror Films That Actually Scared Me.

As the gas got pumping, it seemed I was in for a prototypical slasher. After a seat-jumping prologue, five twenty-somethings arrive at the base of the thickest mountainous forest region you’ve ever seen. One of the hip dudes’ dads has recently purchased land around the area, and our intrepid group has decided to check the place out with a little partying: 80s style. Despite the warnings of a U.S. Ranger, our young scouts make it to the middle of nowhere, set up camp, and ensue in skinny dipping and boombox beats. Cue the shotgun-blast warning from some inbred mountain-folk. Right about now, I’m thinking, “Well, if they don’t mess this up, it’ll be a great straight-forward, old school slasher.” I was right. But I was also wrong.

Instead of grue-ing it up and sticking to normal conventions, Just Before Dawn flexes a skill that few films in this genre are smart enough to take advantage of: indubitable tension. This isn’t a slasher that reeks of cheese or causes you to crack up at terrible 80s dialogue. The forest envelopes the likeable characters, forcing up a dizziness of location confusion. We never know which way is up, so when the off-kilter killer shows his face, the ensuing carnage is effective and chilling, rather than gory and goofy. Then there’s the ending. In a welcome male-female role reversal, a perky femme delivers one of the most jaw-dropping acts of self defense imaginable. At that point, I knew it was true. Just Before Dawn had solidified its position on my oh-so-short list.

AUDIO AND VIDEO
Ah, it’s everything a five dollar budget release should be. This full frame, cropped print features some rude ghosting, numerous jump cuts (but none too flustering), emulsion lines, and filthy compression. Filthy, I tell ya! Quite shockingly, the mono sound wasn’t too bad. Still, it was cheaper than tracking down an out-of-print VHS tape and I enjoyed the film despite the obvious visual shortcomings.

EXTRAS
Just Before Dawn appears on Platinum’s “Great Horror Classics Volume 5,” along with Silent Night, Bloody Night, Scared To Death, and Good Against Evil. Due to some kind of rights discrepancy, Just Before Dawn has been pulled from the disc and replaced with Kill Baby Kill. If you’re lucky, you can still find the original pressing of this disc at your local Best Buy. That’s what I did.

FINAL THOUGHTS
No doubt about it, Just Before Dawn is a classic of the slasher sub-genre. I’d love to see a nice looking copy, but until a legitimate DVD release makes the rounds, this’ll do just fine.

Recipe: not good


Hissy breathing


Final dips


Foot sandwich, comin' right up