Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Mr_Ectoplasma "Just Before Dawn" focuses on five young hikers who make their way into the backwoods of Oregon to a piece of property whom one of them owns; unfortunately, they get more than they bargained for when an ogreish killer ends up on their trail. Rope bridges, waterfalls, an abandoned church, and the dense Oregon forest set the stage here for a whole lot of fun and some surprisingly sophisticated thrills.It had taken me a long time to get around to seeing this film, but boy, oh, boy, what a surprise we have here! Taking pointers from "Deliverance" (and also heavily reminiscent of "The Hills Have Eyes", despite the fact that the filmmakers refute having even seen that film before writing the script), "Just Before Dawn" is one of the slickest and most dazzling backwoods slasher pictures to come out of the 1980s. While the general premise clearly has little to offer in terms of originality, the production values here really elevate the film— incredible cinematography of the landscapes and forests are gorgeous while conversely terrifying, and the individual cast members and their on screen chemistry is incredibly believable. Sophisticated and well-placed curves in the plot also make for some understated moments of awe and terror; in another's hands, the script here could have taken the "Friday the 13th" route, but there is plenty of clever writing and a serious attempt at tension and suspense. The haunting whistling score adds another layer of ominousness to the film, blurring the lines around the film's diegesis and composition— is it the soundtrack, or is someone whistling at us from the woods? Is there a difference? Jeff Lieberman's direction here is amazing, and Deborah Benson is perfect in the film's central role. At the end of the day (or rather, beginning), "Just Before Dawn" is one of the most under-viewed slasher thrillers of its time; while it is cherished by a great few, it is not a film that has fully received the audience it deserves. Pitted against 98% of the slasher fodder that was the 1980s, it is the cream of the crop— moodily shot, well-acted, well-written, and indelibly atmospheric. The film's peers of the time that attempted similar things (the atrocious "Don't Go in the Woods" comes to mind) did so with about 1/10th of the grace, and its influence has bled on into contemporary films (see "Wrong Turn"). Really, the bottom line is that "Just Before Dawn" is a class act all around. Imagine how shocked and giddy I was when I found out after watching it that it was basically filmed in my backyard! I think I've officially got summer hiking plans now, sans backwoods maniacs with machetes (or at least I would hope). 9/10.

fedor8 I don't think these kids needed serial-killing hicks at all. Judging from their pre-attack forest activities, they would have done themselves in without anybody's assistance. Walking over a wafer-thin bridge, and quite literally rolling like balls down a steep hill is probably more of a threat to the average human than machete-waving hell-fire twin demons ever could be.Especially fat "demons". These spree-killing hicks must weigh at least 150 kilos apiece, which makes me wonder: how come they don't shed any of that weight while on their speedy forest trips? You ought to see how one of them throws himself on a moving van, and then climbs all over it like a spider. Utter nonsense, because the movie isn't a supernatural horror flick.Then again, this IS a slasher film. No need to go into too much detail over its continual idiocy. There is certainly no need to mention that the blond guy leaves his girlfriend ALL ALONE in camp at night, while he looks for their missing friends. I also see no point whatsoever in mentioning that a little later one half of the killer twins chops down a tree in what must be a new logging world record in machete-cutting, while the blond screams hysterically atop it. Forests are generally quiet – certainly compared to cities – but there is no sense in me telling you that Sheriff Kennedy failed to hear either her ear-piercing screams or the noise of the tree-cutting in spite of being in the vicinity.Should I mention that the red-head is fondled underwater by unseen human hands which brings her into justifiable hysterics? Yet, later that evening she is happily dancing, apparently having completely forgotten her harrowing "super-natural" experience; this is one of the quickest mental recoveries from a bone-chilling incident ever witnessed in a horror film. However, that didn't help her much when she got hacked to death a day later. In fact, she was far too relaxed considering that an invisible "demon" had just fondled her in a lake a little earlier.While you know that JBD is a retarded slasher film, there is one thing you definitely don't know: the movie has telepathic powers. No, really, it does. It read my mind and had somebody shoot down the stereo playing that awful 80s pop music. Just how did the movie know I wanted to shoot it down myself? Magic.It's hard to believe the premise that a spectacular waterfall would somehow be an out-of-the-way don't-go-there type of place, when in reality the locals – in-bred or not - would be making bundles of money from tourists flocking to see it. This is one of the movie's main attractions, the waterfalls, and the locations. That and the red-head's boobs. The female cast is very attractive.Still, there is an element of weirdness (even a trace of, dare I say, originality) amidst all the clichés, but I can't quite put my finger on it, or at least not all of my fingers. I might put my index finger on the scene in which the blond girl kills one of the hicks by sticking half her arm inside his throat, chocking him to death. I half-expected him to bite her hand off but for some reason fatty Leatherface didn't think of that. That entire last bit is bizarre.

callanvass *Minor spoiler* Just Before Dawn has a decent cult following and I can see why. It's easy to see why movies like Wrong Turn were heavily influenced by it. Is it original? Not really. It has echoes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre & The Hills Have Eyes, but it's awfully stylish and manages to have a mind of It's own. I can't get over the fantastic cinematography. The scenery is mind blowing at times, with a beautiful waterfall situated around a lake that we see many times throughout the movie. It made for a very unique atmosphere. Don't expect many gory deaths in this one. Aside from the opening where a guy gets killed with a machete in his crotch area, this movie isn't about gore. It's all about suspense, and boy does it have a lot of it. The Killers in this one are deformed and very twisted. They don't just wanna murder people; they like to toy with their victims in the most frightening ways imaginable. It also helps that these aren't disposable Slasher victims like you usually see. I actually cared about a couple of the characters. It was really great to see some character development here. George Kennedy is NOT the main character here. He has a rather thankless role which I assume was for a paycheck. I managed to enjoy him anyway. Deborah Benson is excellent as the female lead. Her acting chops are a cut above the usual Slasher role. She was vulnerable, yet willfully strong at the same time. She had many qualities that Amy Steele had in Friday The 13th Part 2. Gregg Henry is also very good as her boyfriend. He was charismatic and I managed to relate with him easy. Chris Lemon (Jack Lemon's son) shows up as wellFinal Thoughts: This isn't talked about nearly enough for my liking. It's pretty damn good for a slasher in the 80's. It is suspenseful and even scary at times. See it if you can find it7/10

Jan Strydom Five teens set out to do some camping in the Oregon wilderness, and despite being warned by the park ranger, they soon realize that something is lurking around in the backwoods waiting to strike.When it comes to old horror movies, the only one that keeps popping up in every conversation is Friday THE 13th, so I took it upon myself to find those good old horror movies that fell short for simply being compared to Friday THE 13th, JUST BEFORE DAWN just so happened to be among the ones I found, and was really very impressive, it wasn't as bland as some of the stuff you find today, it was very sharp in terms of character development as it had quite a few likable ones, and it has this very casual pace, its not in a hurry to get to the hack and slash bits, it takes its time to set the proper mood and tone and is very atmospheric and builds some killer suspense by letting you always have that sense of dread like, somethings out there but you don't know where it is or when it will strike.Where I live its definitely an overlooked gem simply because people never heard of it or won't give it a chance, but I'll state that it is not a Friday THE 13th rip off, the two concepts don't even go near each other, but in my mind, it is overall one of the more impressive slashers I've seen in a while.