Just Before Dawn (1980)

49% of users liked it
(2,186 ratings)

Director Jeff Lieberman followed his horror-science fiction film Blue Sunshine with this effort, which rehashes many of the themes explored in Wes Craven's seminal horror work The Hills Have Eyes. The plot concerns a teenage land owner who heads for the mountains of Oregon with a deed to his new… More Director Jeff Lieberman followed his horror-science fiction film Blue Sunshine with this effort, which rehashes many of the themes explored in Wes Craven's seminal horror work The Hills Have Eyes. The plot concerns a teenage land owner who heads for the mountains of Oregon with a deed to his new property and an RV full of young friends only to discover (to their extreme peril) that words on paper mean less than nothing up there... or, in the words of horticulture-loving park ranger George Kennedy, "Those mountains can't read, son." By nightfall, the youths learn the gravity of this warning, as they are set upon by a hulking Mongoloid in a knit cap and pilot's glasses who seems capable of being in two places at once. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Jeff Lieberman
Genres: Horror

In Theaters: Nov 25, 1981 Wide
On DVD: Jul 26, 2005

Critic Reviews

David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...an exceedingly familiar premise that's been done countless times before...

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Just Before Dawn can be seen as an obscured gem in the Slasher genre. Released in the early 1980's, Just Before Dawn barely made a ripple in the thriving Slasher genre of the early 80's. I think this is a great shame because upon watching this film, you realize that Just… More
Just Before Dawn can be seen as an obscured gem in the Slasher genre. Released in the early 1980's, Just Before Dawn barely made a ripple in the thriving Slasher genre of the early 80's. I think this is a great shame because upon watching this film, you realize that Just Before Dawn is not like your typical Slasher film that relies solely on the blood and guts routine. Yes, there's some bloody killings, but it's pretty minimal stuff. What makes this Slasher film better than most is the fact that the director uses creepy atmosphere with a slow buildup to create the tension, and that is the key to why the film works so well. Just Before Dawn limits the violence the violence factors and uses more convincing tactics i order to build the horror in the viewer, that's where the eerie atmosphere, suspense and dark and creepy film score come into play. These are some of the elements that made Halloween such an effective horror film, and director Jeff Lieberman has crafted something that is quite frankly better than many of the big slasher films that came out during this period. Just Before Dawn, along with Halloween proves that you don't need massive amounts of blood and gore to create an effective, and terrifying Slasher film. With the right elements you can create something spooky that will deliver the thrills that horror fans crave dearly. A well crafted atmospheric slasher film that delivers good acting, great scares with good bloody kills, and doesn't try to go overboard either. A must see for Slasher film fans.
Bruce B

A 1980 Slasher movie that has Drive-In written all over it. 5 young people take a camper into the mountains of California only to stumble upon a man running thru the woods claiming his buddy has been murdered. Does this turn them back, nope, even after park ranger George Kennedy tells… More
A 1980 Slasher movie that has Drive-In written all over it. 5 young people take a camper into the mountains of California only to stumble upon a man running thru the woods claiming his buddy has been murdered. Does this turn them back, nope, even after park ranger George Kennedy tells them not to go up on the mountain, but one of the young people hold a deed to the property and he is going. So begins a want to be Jason running around the mountain killing people. Some beautiful scenes of 2 beautiful women of the 1980 era, Jamie Rose who we see topless shots of while in the lake and a got more beautiful as she grew older Deborah Benson. Its not the best slasher movie, might have been top notch in 1980 but I can only give it a 3 star rating today.
John M

Wrong Turn without the action, blood and suspense. Good location and decent acting however I found myself bored a lot of the time. Not gory at all nor good slash just the opening death worth watching.
ken j

One of the many overlooked campers in the woods getting stalked by killer pics was released around the sametime as friday the 13th and in some circles this is considered the first before friday the 13th 2 couples against the sheriffs orders go up into the mountains to look at… More
One of the many overlooked campers in the woods getting stalked by killer pics was released around the sametime as friday the 13th and in some circles this is considered the first before friday the 13th 2 couples against the sheriffs orders go up into the mountains to look at property left to one of the friends little do they know there is a family of inbreds up there too and they dont take kindly to strangers the usual slasher kills and very little plot keep this at a three star movie if bored and like 80's horror worth a watch
Christopher B

One of the better entries in the slasher genre, this modestly made horror is very atmospheric and the villain is quite scary. The use of ambient noise rather than a score is very effective as well. However, if you are a Jeff Liberman fan, skip the DVD commentary. "The Texas… More
One of the better entries in the slasher genre, this modestly made horror is very atmospheric and the villain is quite scary. The use of ambient noise rather than a score is very effective as well. However, if you are a Jeff Liberman fan, skip the DVD commentary. "The Texas Chainsaw Murders"? Even my wife knows it's "Massacre" and she never watches horror films. If he was trying to prove that he never saw it, it worked, but unfortunately also makes him look like an idjit in the process. And "Showing the murderer in the BG creates suspense"? Ya think? Did you think up that ingenius concept? Oh well, great movie from a great director who I never want to hear talk again. (though he's not near as bad as Zak Snyder's Dawn of the Dead commentary. I wanted to punch him. "He's a superstar!")