JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981)

JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981) (R) Dir. Jeff Lieberman
90 mins.

This is a gem. It's got the same tropes and stereotypes as every other slasher film of the era, but it's just executed so effectively. Five kids head into the mountains of Oregon, as their de facto leader Warren has acquired a plot there, and they plan on camping on the land, you know, just to check it out. It is established early on that Warren, an experienced scout, is the key to the others surviving in the deep, impenetrable forest.

 

Along the way they meet a ranger played by veteran actor George Kennedy, who warns them not to proceed further. In true early slasher fashion, they ignore his warning and head up the mountain anyhow. Further down the road they meet a drunkard (Mike Kellin of Sleepaway Camp) who's just witnessed his nephew's murder. He begs the group for help, but in his incoherent mumblings, they ignore him and drive away.

 

 

They set up camp, play some jokes on each other, and whilst dancing (to some swanky electro-funk)around the campfire their first night, they are visited by an old backwoods man, shotgun in hand, along with his wife and daughter. He ominously threatens the group with the gun, saying that if they do not leave that night, they will wake "the devil". This is three warnings, folks. THREE. Yet the group remains defiant and stay on the mountain.

 

 

Well, some 300 pound oafish motherfucker in a checkered shirt and mask starts eliminating the group. Go figure. There are however, many twists in this movie, which I won't spoil, that are from left field and thus highly welcome in this sort of film.

 

The score was achieved as the composer whistled and blew into his microphone, and though its used sparsely throughout the feature, it is imposing and spooky. Added to the lush cinematography and wonderful location scouting, it creates the kind of atmosphere that DEFINES good horror. Gloomy, claustrophobic, and oppressive. The editing is pretty poor, I have to admit. The script is meh, pretty much standard fare for this sort of thing, and the acting, for the most part, mimics this. However two actors stand out: Gregg Henry as Warren and Deborah Benson as Constance. These two characters start at one point and end up completely transformed by the end. It's a great narrative arc, and seeing their gender roles slowly erode in the shadow of an imminent threat is truly unique.

 

 

Despite its clichés, Just Before Dawn is one of the finest, if not obscure, examples of the slasher genre. One part Friday the 13th (though the director has shown nothing but disdain for that film) and one part Deliverance (from which its inspired), this is a great addition to the hixploitation slasher subgenre. 7/10

 

 

UNMASKED PART 25 (1988)

UNMASKED PART 25 (1988) (UR)
aka HAND OF DEATH aka JACKSON'S BACK
Dir. Anders Palm
New Zealand

 

Jackson, a disfigured mass murderer, has got it rough. His father drunkenly abuses him, he lives on the outskirts of society, and his deterministic need and filial-enforced imperative to kill has really got him down. Worse yet, the movie industry keeps reminding him of his despair by releasing dozens of movies capitalizing on his exploits. He just wants to be normal and not a horror trope.

 

Things begin to change, though, when on one of his murder sprees his meets a blind girl named Shelly. She shows genuine interest in poor Jackson and because of this, Jackson doesn't kill her, he dates her. What follows next is an extended break in the carnage as Jackson tries to change his ways and find solace in his new love. His new bondage-loving, sex toy fanatic love. Yes this movie is weird and often hysterical.

 

 

Jackson is clearly a parody of Jason Voorhees, sporting a hockey mask and enduring an overbearing psychotic parental figure who compels him to kill. This film recognizes these clichés and assaults them with self-aware humor. Hence the title (no, there are not 24 other Unmasked movies). Part slasher, part romantic comedy, this hardly-known gem is truly an excellent spoof of the genre, a la Student Bodies, that both revels in and pokes fun at its source material.

 

The humor is very reminiscent of classic British comedy, and the gore, at times, is fantastic. It perfectly mocks the trends of 80's slashers and the romantic comedy segments of the film are, in fact, some of the best scenes in it. It also sports a very grim climax that leaves the audience on a strong downnote. Despite its lowbudgetry and occasional bad pacing, fans of the genre definitely should seek this out.

6/10

 

 

Sorry, no link. This shit is rare, man.