Just Before Dawn

Jeff Lieberman's "Just Before Dawn" is definitely one of the most underrated horror movies ever made.The film,whilst a little bit influenced by "Deliverance" and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre",is extremely creepy and memorable.The suspense almost never lets up and the atmosphere is genuinely eerie.The cast is excellent,Deborah Benson and Jamie Rose are great female leads.The inbred twins are truly frightening and remorseless killers.The film is beautifully shot-it was actually filmed on location at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.There is very little gore,but one killing,when Verchel is stabbed in the groin,is pretty nasty and unpleasant.A must-see for slasher fans.10 out of 10-what else?

Ignore the bad reviews on here, this film is awesome! "Just Before Dawn" is a great example of what can be done in a film with a minimal budget if you have a dedicated crew, decent script, and a cool idea for a film. It's a hell of a lot of fun. I enjoyed it a lot more than most other 80's slashers because the killer is so unique. "Wrong Turn" ripped this movie off something fierce! There's plenty of blood and scares. My girlfriend was freaked out and she watches almost everything with me and doesn't flinch. It's got that creepiness to it. I'd say that "Just Before Dawn" is the best early 80's slasher out there. I really enjoyed it. 8 out of 10, kids.

Let's get the bad out of the way first. There is very little gore and a small body count. It also took a little while for people to die. But once it's 30 minutes in, there's already quite a little bit of suspense. The acting was quite good, in fact surprisingly good, and the setting was just stunning. The cinematography and soundtrack definitely help with the terrifying mood. The eerie whistle motif heard throughout was simple and scary. Plus, the opening death was one of the best slasher deaths out there. Overall, it's a scary, well made slasher flick that definitely deserves more attention.

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.

This is a BRILLIANTLY made 80s slasher Horror & it has a real scary atmosphere & set deep in the woods with a group of friends who have travelled there for some fun & end up fighting for their lives!!! Scary & creepy & VERY menacing music this is a BRILLIANT movie,The killers are 2 inbred hillbillies & they are terrifying, real actually scary threats that show up with a sense of fear constantly around it's such a fun woods set Horror & EASILY one of the best slasher Horrors of all time!!! The performances of the group of victims are great & believable & you want them to survive. One of my favourite Horror films

On the surface, Just Before Dawn sounds just like dozens of other killer hillbilly slasher films. Whitebread Warren buys some property in the gorgeous Oregon mountains and takes his girlfriend Cowering Connie, prankster friend Jokey Jonathan and his girlfriend Makeup-obsessed Megan, and Jonathan's brother Danny (aka 5th Wheel) to visit the new digs. They're warned away from the area by a ranger, a prior survivor, AND a creepy mountain family but you know how it is...and they've got a deed! Anyway, things go wrong our cast members meet the wrong end of some sharp things. Typical 80s slasher, but Jeff Lieberman really manages to make it something special. The woods are both beautiful and ominous, the main characters actually seem like they'd be friends in real life, there's decent gore,a fun twist, and a nice example of a character finding some inner strength. Sure, I would have liked a higher body count but that's really my only quibble. Give this one a chance and you might like it.