At the end of Just Before Dawn you will witness the ultimate deconstruction of slasher movie stereotypes and it took Jeff Lieberman (Squirm, Blue Sunshine) to do it. As you can see he's not a stranger to quirky, original takes on otherwise quite common themes and it's interesting how he already in 1981 took the normal slasher and twisted it around a little. Not much to be honest, it's still a very basic backwoods slasher - but it's the details that does it.
A gang of "teenagers" (or what they're suppose to be, hard to understand actually... especially Gregg Henry who looks as old as the sinister character he played in Brian De Palma's masterpiece Body Double a couple of years later) looks forward to a weekend of camping out in the mountains, but is warned by the gentle giant George Kennedy to not go up there. They ignore him and find themselves being hunted down one by one by a violent inbred killer with a huge serrated machete...
This doesn't seem much, I know, but the fact is that Just Before Dawn still is one of the best in the genre. It sure is very far from the most graphic and violent addition to the genre, surprisingly little for being from that time, but it lives on because of something more important: a strong cast and a tight script. The characters are among the most well-written (but it doesn't beat My Bloody Valentine, nothing does) ever in a slasher film, with some interesting complex relationships. Gregg Henry, as Warren, is the most interesting one, and if you haven't seen the movie you will never see where he's bringing the character. It's fresh and intelligent - and maybe mostly realistic.
George Kennedy has nothing much to do, but makes the best of his underwritten part. I love him a lot, a fantastic character actor who happens to be very likable and naturalistic in his performances. If you want to see him blast through the screen as the mainstream, check out Edward Dmytryk's interesting revenge action/drama The Human Factor. Which proofs he can carry a whole film by himself. I've always wondered if Just Before Dawn was the start of his road into explotation valley. He did some pretty big movies in the 70's, but around 79-80 he drifted more into genre cinema and obscure foreign films and a couple of years later he was a staple in genre flicks like Radioactive Dreams, Demonwarp, Wacko, Savage Dawn, Creepshow 2, Nightmare at Noon, La bahía esmeralda (directed by Jess Franco), The Terror Within etc. Don't misunderstand me, that's what I love and respect and I've always been grateful for his work in horror and action.
On a more shallow note, Just Before Dawn has one of the best end-kills ever on screen. It's so utterly surprising and bizarre, and strangely it works fantastic. The stuff that happens afterwards is also, while nothing visually spectacular, an amazing twist on the gender roles in horror movies. Sure, it has the typical "final girl" there, but there's more to that than just a tough broad.
After a few mediocre releases Code Red finally delivers this classic on Blu-ray! The picture quality is excellent. A few speckles here and there, some dust, but very sharp and perfectly capturing the dark, moody woods. It's a true revelation! The only extra is the extended international cut, which supposedly fleshes out the characters and story a little bit. I've heard good things about that version. The quality is a bit more battered, but for us who have seen it on VHS and bad DVDs it's still something worth taking a look at. Which I will do some day.
Alright, I think you all should go either to Code Red or Diabolik and buy yourself a copy of Just Before Dawn, it's well worth the money and a true dream for the slasher aficionado. And you're supporting a small, crazy company at the same time - and that's a must in today's world. Support, send some love and support a little bit more. That's what I think it's the only decent thing to do.
"As you can see he's not a stranger to quirky, original takes on otherwise quite common themes and it's interesting how he already in 1981 took the normal slasher and twisted it around a little. Not much to be honest, it's still a very basic backwoods slasher - but it's the details that does it."
The ending completely surprised me.....
"This doesn't seem much, I know, but the fact is that Just Before Dawn still is one of the best in the genre."
I´m not as fond of it as you are......but then again....I haven´t seen that many slashers.
"(but it doesn't beat My Bloody Valentine, nothing does)"
Another slasher I´m not too fond of.
"George Kennedy has nothing much to do, but makes the best of his underwritten part. I love him a lot, a fantastic character actor who happens to be very likable and naturalistic in his performances."
Yeah, I like him too, Kennedy usually deliver.
"The only extra is the extended international cut, which supposedly fleshes out the characters and story a little bit. I've heard good things about that version."
Yeah? I need to see that version.
"And you're supporting a small, crazy company at the same time - and that's a must in today's world. Support, send some love and support a little bit more. That's what I think it's the only decent thing to do."
I agree with you, good review Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | December 10, 2013 at 22:56