Just Before Dawn (1981 film)

This article is about the 1981 slasher film directed by Jeff Lieberman. For the William Castle film, see Just Before Dawn (1946 film).
Just Before Dawn
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJeff Lieberman
Written by
  • Jeff Lieberman
  • Mark Arywitz
  • Jonas Middleton
Produced byDavid Sheldon
Starring
Cinematography
  • Dean King
  • Joel King
Edited byRobert Q. Lovett
Music byBrad Fiedel
Production
company
Oakland Productions[1]
Distributed byPicturmedia
Release date
  • November 27, 1981 (1981-11-27)
Running time
90 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million[1]

Just Before Dawn is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Jeff Lieberman and starring Chris Lemmon, Gregg Henry, Deborah Benson, Ralph Seymour, Jamie Rose, and George Kennedy. The film follows a group of hikers who travel into a mountainous region of Oregon to visit property inherited by one of them, only to be hunted by a ruthless backwoods killer.

Inspired by Deliverance (1972), Lieberman rewrote an original screenplay by Mark Arywitz and Jonas Middleton, which was originally set in Tennessee and featured prominent religious themes. Principal photography began in July 1980 at Silver Falls State Park in Silverton, Oregon. The original musical score was one of the earlier works of Brad Fiedel, who went on to compose the scores for such films as The Terminator (1984) and Fright Night (1985).

Just Before Dawn was distributed in the United States by the independent company Picturmedia, who released it theatrically on November 27, 1981. The film was not a commercial success and received mixed reviews, with many highlighting its elegant cinematography, and others criticizing the film for its derivative elements. The film has been noted by film scholars for expanding on tropes found in slasher films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977),[3] though Lieberman has emphatically stated he had seen neither film, and his intentions were to make a thriller with elements of an art film.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference adventure was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Just Before Dawn". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020.
  3. ^ Towlson 2016, p. 130.