Just Before Dawn

22 years or so before the original Wrong Turn film was this rather well acted yarn of campers being stalked by inbred killer hillbillies.

A 'cut' above other similar films of the time, thanks to the casting of able players giving it a more believable atmosphere which helps to make it much more gripping than it could have been. This film features possibly the niftiest resolution to a 'slasher' film in cinema history.

This starts very well, giving us a good idea or the horrors to come and even though the film seems to settle into what seems to be becoming the usual tale of five naive kids going into the hills to get picked off one by one, things turn out a bit more creepy. Extremely well shot with constantly wonderful views of the Oregon woods, waters and mountains this begins, quite early on, to look a bit more like Deliverance than the average slasher. I can understand why fans consider the film gets better on subsequent viewings because after the first watch you will be aware that you do not have to worry that this is going to go down that well trodden path. Much here to give concern, not jump shocks but eerie visions and suggestions of evil goings on. At the same time the nerdy kids seem to change, become more attractive and less annoying as we move inexorably towards what turns out to be a great ending up a tree and then an even greater one back on the forest floor. Lovely waterfalls and an amazing rope bridge along the way, I haven't even mentioned the siren like young girl or her big twin brothers, or the man who talks to his horse. Big surprise.

Liebermans' entry in the original slasher craze is definitely more well made and intelligent than some. In fact, in making it he wasn't so much inspired by "Friday the 13th" as he was "Deliverance". He and his crew make this a powerfully atmospheric outing, utilizing the real Oregon woods to great effect, and turn it into a fun survival-of-the-fittest yarn, even developing the two main characters in interesting ways.

Five young adults venture into the Oregonian mountains to do some camping and check out the local land that one of them has supposedly inherited. Before long they begin to be victimized by a stealthy, heavyset psychopath.

Slasher movie fanatics who watch this sort of thing for gore and/or nudity will be quite disappointed with Liebermans' film, as it's clear he has a different agenda going on. That's not to say, of course, that the women aren't attractive, or that there isn't some effective nastiness to be enjoyed. But what the director really wants to convey is the need to have a respect for nature - because it CAN kick your ass if you're not prepared. He begins with an intense opening set piece and generates some truly unnerving suspense; this is the kind of film that can have a viewer literally on the edge of their seat. It's also stylishly done; take note of one scene transition in particular. Brad Fiedel, who a few years later gained his fame with his theme for "The Terminator", supplies a music score that is chilling in its subtlety. (The whistling is a really nice touch.)

The better than usual cast features some very familiar actors: Gregg Henry, Ralph Seymour, Jamie Rose, Mike Kellin, Chris Lemmon (Jacks' son), and George Kennedy as the veteran forest ranger who's aware that the area is fraught with danger. The gorgeous Deborah Benson, who really should have been able to enjoy a much more visible career, is a standout as the female lead who starts out as a rather tentative character, starts to cut loose, and ultimately finds her inner strength. John Hunsaker is extremely creepy as the killer.

There's one well executed plot twist along the way, and at the end an innovative and memorable way of dispatching our villain. The pacing is deliberate, the camera-work and cinematography excellent, and the scenery beautiful, in what has to be one of the more unheralded horror films of its time. It comes highly recommended.

Eight out of 10.

The kids-in-the-woods genre isn't a hard one to rise to the top in, yet this film succeeds on its own. A genuinely well-made horror movie with several truly original, creepy images (the man coming out the waterfall!) and an excellent hand-to-hand combat finale. Shot on a genuine shoestring, this film betters by miles any of the studio-financed atrocities that came in the wake of the first Friday. I found the acting and dialogue convincing, at least for horror movie standards. And the photography is grainy and low-fi in an ominous way, without looking unprofessional. This is one of the best horror films of the 1980's, seriously underrated.

Very scary backwoods slasher is much better than others, such as "The Prey" and some of the later "Friday the 13th" sequels. The story has to do with five teenager campers running afoul of a pair of psychotic, machete-wielding hillbilly twins. One by one they are dispatched by the murderous giants (who giggle as they slaughter their prey). This has some great photography of the Oregon wilderness, a creepy musical score, and some of the best shocks ever put into a horror/slasher film. I really enjoy the scene where Daniel and Megan are menaced by one of the killers. A classic that deserves a video re-release. I actually stumbled across this one for four bucks at a resale shop in Northern Michigan.