Just Before Dawn**

It's been a while since I last watched Just Before Dawn (1981)° and after knocking out the Exorcist first and third films this weekend, this felt right for the end of summer and nearing fall. Lieberman really gets some nice shots and had quite a backdrop for the backwoods tale of an inbred duo of twin wackos with no regard for human life, plus-sized with old clothes never changed, and probably quite a stink from very little bathing or soap. They often seem to have such reach in front of Lieberman's camera, the surroundings are dwarfed such as when Chris Lemmon is climbing rope from a cut bridge and one of the brothers bears over him like an overcasting shadow.

The film moves really fast to me, or at least did tonight. I'm taken by the immense scale of the mountains, the expanse of the wilderness, this Oregon landscape that seems to produce such an idyllic but sinister effect. Like you have to respect the land, to understand not just it's beauty but also the danger. And the film does present the film's outsiders with warnings against going too deep into the woods. The creepy father and the ladies in his family, a loaded shotgun, and talk of raising the devil with the area's ranger played by George Kennedy, prone to talking to himself, his horse, and his plants, also telling them the mountain is a threat.

Deborah Benson and her fascinating character shift is always something I remain quite taken by. The easily scared and soft personality we see at the beginning alters into a fierce, stone cold fighter not going down without using her whole body as a weapon. Her whole fist shoved into one of the killer's mouth, very phallic and overpowering, is incredible and unlike anything a slasher might produce. You even hear the gurgle as she pulls her fist out. And while a wounded and terrified Henry lies on the ground, Benson stands victorious, the dawn approaching, her holding his weeping head on her strong chest. 

I remember the first time I watched this. It was catching serious buzz on the IMDb horror message board around 2005. I was renting DVDs at the time from Netflix and got this in the mail on a Wednesday afternoon. I didn't know what to expect but the hype and anticipation was off the charts. God, the DVD boom of the 2000s and how the internet perpetuated it was really cool. This whole world was opened to horror fans. Nowadays it is a number of niche companies releasing every kind of horror and cult film on Blu. I wish I had the disposable income to improve my collection with all these titles. But back then, it was such a great time. Before that fucking 2008 recession, I was introduced to a lot of titles like "Just Before Dawn". I never saw this on VHS. I never knew about this. The slasher renaissance was definitely alive and well thanks to "Going to Pieces: the Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film" so there was this surge of renewed interest in 80s obscure slashers. So it was this congruence of interest in slashers and companies like Shriek Show releasing obscure films like "Just Before Dawn". I recall getting "Just Before Dawn" and "Dead & Buried" (1981) on the same Wednesday.  That afternoon and evening was quite an experience. I watched "Just Before Dawn" first I think. I thought it was quite the sleeper of 2005 for me. That was quite a time for obscure horror and films that might have been lost in the void for two decades were given a spotlight. Now while the economy is changing and physical media seems doomed, the Blu releases by the likes of Scream Factory and Vinegar Syndrome are keeping these obscure titles alive. So after that Wednesday afternoon viewing, I immediately bought it on, I believe, Deep Discount DVD. One of those purchases I am very happy to have in my library.

This just has all the great backwoods slasher ingredients that grabbed me and captivated me (and still does) that late night campfire scene, the van driving into the heft of the wilderness, right into the heart of the mountain, the waterfall and rivers, the towering trees, the family who has been living there and inbreeding too long, the scary rope bridge, and this abandoned church (I am attracted to left behind structures and buildings) the film crew actually created that I thought was a very realistic depiction of a decaying holy place no longer used as intended.

Fiedel early in his career with his synth score really just gives us the cherry on top. In the illuminating documentary, Fiedel (known famously for his scores to "The Terminator" and "Fright Night") describes going for Tibetan chants for the minimalist but haunting score. The bird whistle as if a bird chimes out in the nature, offering even the disco rock melody for a fire night dance where the sexy Jami Rose gets her peeps to boogie a bit, as even a reluctant Seymore gives in; Fiedel just composed a dreamlike, atmospheric sound I could summon to mind when I'm off into nature.

Kellin is probably better known in the 80s for "Sleepaway Camp", in '83, but I think he's quite a fun casting choice as a local hunter losing a dear friend to the Hunsaker twins. Quite drunk but also traumatized, Kellin eventually encounters the young adults and finally Kennedy. He sees the twins as the mountain. Kennedy looks at the twins basically as violent nature within the landscape.

______________________________

°August 27, 2012, on the blog Old review