text: Well, sadly, I can't help but feeling a little bit disappointed after my much, much, MUCH-anticipated viewing of "Just Before Dawn". Jeff Lieberman is a terrific filmmaker and he can undoubtedly do great things with a tiny budget, but I nevertheless expected to see a far more sadistic and gruesome early 80's slasher. But actually I'm beginning to think that Lieberman isn't the one to blame for this, but WE gorehounds are! It's more than obvious that Lieberman intended to make his take on the backwoods-slasher look like "Deliverance" and absolutely NOT like "Friday the 13th", which immensely popularized the sub genre one year earlier. The horror and constant sensation of menace doesn't mainly come from the demented maniacs with their machetes, but from the genuinely ominous and isolated Oregon forests where this movie was shot. In case the film seems slow and uneventful, this is only because Lieberman takes his time to introduce the dark woods and eerie mountains as extra characters in his film. We hardly ever see the killers in person, but there always appears to be someone luring from behind the trees or from underneath the mountain lakes. Bearing this in mind, "Just Before Dawn" becomes a highly admirable horror effort and actually a lot better than its contemporary blood-soaked colleagues. Amidst a nearly endless selection of gory and sickening slashers, Lieberman successfully puts the emphasis back on tension and character development. The plot revolves on five twenty-something friends heading for a camping vacation in the Oregon woods, where one of them owns a small piece of land. The woods are deserted and, naturally, the campers ignore forest ranger Roy's (George Kennedy!) advise to return back to civilization. Shortly after, they brutally encounter an inbred family of which the twin sons have murderous tendencies. All five main characters are surprisingly likable and convincing! No irritating stereotypes for which you don't feel sympathy anyway, like slutty girls or football jocks. As a result of this "natural" character, you automatically cheer for them, even when they eventually almost turn into savages themselves. The sublime camera-work supplies the film with an at times unbearable tension level and Brad Fiedel's chilling electronic score only adds to this effect. "Just Before Dawn" is a fine slice of early 80's horror, as long as you don't desire blood to drip from your TV-set.