“Vachel, something is up there.” Uncle Ty (Mike Kellin) after glimpsing a rather unsettling image in “Just Before Dawn.”

Filmmaker Jeff Lieberman has directed only a handful of films in his 20 years in the business. The majority of which have been horror films and only one, “Squirm,” was a genuine hit in theaters. It is a credit to his talents as an auteur, then, that his small output has created such a rabid following. Lieberman, much like Larry Cohen, is a real actor’s director and a gifted writer who can make even the most outlandish premises work. “Squirm,” from 1976, is about carnivorous worms terrorizing a small backwater town in Georgia. What makes this film stand out in a decade filled with ecological horror such as “Food of the Gods” or “Frogs” is that “Squirm” is not only scary, it’s a surprisingly solid drama. Both Lieberman and Cohen ground their films with nuanced characters and cast strong actors to inhabit these roles. In “Squirm” leads Don Scardino and Patricia Pearcy (as a fish out of water Yankee and charming southern ingénue respectively) give the film a dramatic weight that doesn’t exist in the typical genre film. In “Blue Sunshine,” Lieberman’s insidious 1977 shocker, experimental drugs taken by a group of college kids come back to haunt them a decade later with a vengeance. Zalman King plays the bewildered protagonist and is given great support by a cast of veteran film and stage actors. The 2002 Synapse DVD of “Sunshine” containing a remastered, uncut version of the film was a wonderful gift from the grindhouse gods. Its release finally validated what hardcore fans knew all along; Lieberman is a tragically underrated artist whose small body of work deserves reevaluation.

“Just Before Dawn” began as a project called “The Last Ritual” that was pre-sold to investors when Lieberman came on board. In an interview last year with Monsters at Play (read it here) he said, “The script, in a word, sucked, it centered around some hillbilly snake ritual in the Smokey Mountains written by a guy named Marc Arywitz. I took the thing with the proviso that I could do anything I wanted with the script as long as I kept the character's names the same so a foreign buyer doing a quick flip through wouldn't say, 'Yikes, this isn't the movie I bought!'” Arywitz is credited as the screenwriter along with a fellow named Gregg Irving, which turns out is a pseudonym for Lieberman. He said that he chose the moniker because he never would have created a kids-in-the-woods slasher film on his own. In the extras Arywitz describes a somewhat more complicated plot in the original draft; one that involves a thematic religious element and a forced marriage between two of the characters. Most of this is jettisoned for what, on paper, looks like a pretty conventional slasher film. However, “Dawn” is much truer in spirit to the gritty “Hills Have Eyes” than to any of the teens-in-peril programmers circa 1981 (the year of its release).

The film begins with two hunters rummaging through an old church in the Oregon Mountains. They are attacked by an obese mountain man (John Hunsaker) carrying a serrated machete. Vachel (Charles Bartlett) is sliced through his groin while Ty (amazing character actor Mike Kellin) is almost run over with his own truck; barely escaping into the dense forest. Some time later, five twenty-somethings head into the mountains to check out an area of land that one of them has inherited. Warren (Gregg Henry), the land owner and outdoor enthusiast, is joined by his girlfriend Constance (Deborah Benson), couple Jonathan and Megan (Chris Lemmon and Jamie Rose) and photographer Daniel (Ralph Seymour). They are warned by forest ranger Roy (George Kennedy) not to go into the mountains; that the surrounding land doesn’t care whether or not they have a deed with them. Of course, they venture ahead anyway, traveling down the only narrow road available. On the way, they come across the frenzied, intoxicated Ty who mumbles incoherently about a demon. He begs the travelers to take him with them, but his delirious state gives them pause. They suggest that he stick to the road. In a nice Lieberman touch, Ty watches as the lumbering killer hitches a ride on the back of the camper as it drives away. Ty’s reaction is wonderful, a maniacal laugh that conveys both relief and irony. Unaware of their new guest, Warren parks the camper and leads everyone through the lush Oregon greenery where they eventually set up camp. That evening, while partying around the campfire, they are confronted by a group of hillbilly’s who urge them once again to leave. True to horror convention, the group remains undeterred and end up staying. The next morning, the inevitable “wandering out alone” begins and the machete-wielding hillbilly continues his rampage. One of the more unsettling aspects of the film is the playful, casual way in which Hunsaker terrorizes his victims. Giggling and toying with them in a curious yet emotionally detached manner, he behaves as a child does sometimes with hurt animals. Clearly this is an imbecilic man-child with no concept of right and wrong. Quite a difference from the deliberate masked murderers who frequented movie screens in the early eighties. The campers are also terrorized mainly during the day; underlining the helplessness of the situation. No one is safe at any time. Though the plot does loosely follow the slasher formula, Lieberman’s main inspiration for his re-write is clearly “Deliverance.” (A fact the director alludes to several times on his commentary.) This allows for a nice, subtle arc for the typical “final girl” character and also gives the climax a satisfying and truly physical “punch.” The way Constance deals with the killer in the final moments would have worked equally well in John Boorman’s backwoods classic.

What is most surprising, given the conventional narrative, is how unconventional the film unfolds. There is an underlying creepiness inherent throughout “Dawn” that is introduced in the very opening scene. The two hunters are introduced through the large hole in the roof of the abandon church. Cinematographer Joel King shoots through the opening in the roof and subtly moves away from the interior, over the roof, to the hunter’s truck just outside the church. It’s one continuous shot and manages to convey quite a bit of information in just a few seconds. Inside, the two hunters are discussing their kill when Ty looks up at the roof. Lieberman quickly cuts to the hole where the large woodsman is silently leering at him. It’s a creepy moment made all the more unsettling because there’s no musical cue to tell the audience they’re supposed to be afraid. For much of the film Lieberman and composer Brad Fiedel (“The Terminator”) play against expectation and allow silence and the sound of the surrounding nature to comment on the action. Much of the subtle score is used during the less tense moments, giving the action set pieces a naked, documentary quality. Fiedel also came up with a thematic bird call that haunts the campers (and the audience) throughout the film.

Lieberman has again assembled a cast that is uniformly good. George Kennedy, an actor who made several embarrassing career choices in the early eighties (“Wacko,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Bolero” to name just a few), manages to give a strong, subtle performance as Ranger Roy. It’s one of his best turns from that decade making “Dawn’s” obscurity all the more troubling. Gregg Henry as the “Burt Reynolds character” gives a surprising range as Warren. Henry is still a busy character actor, turning up recently with Mel Gibson in “Payback.” Constance, the “final girl” is played with much strength and charm by Deborah Benson. She manages to bring quite a bit of nuance to a character with little back-story. Television staples Chris “Open House” Lemmon and Jamie “Falcon Crest” Rose are equally good as the doomed lovers. Lemmon (Jack’s son) has always been a woefully underrated performer. He has the charisma and “every man” warmth of his dad and it’s too bad that he’s been relegated to forgettable TV fare. His contribution to the DVD featurette paints a portrait of a genial working actor who has no regrets. The cast is ably rounded out by Ralph Seymour (“Rain Man,” “The Relic”) and John Hunsaker; unforgettable as the trophy-collecting killer.

This 2-Disc special edition from Shriek Show is much better than the advance word online. The company has been criticized for using a fairly rough print of the film. It’s also supposedly cut and presented with incorrect matting. Though Shriek Show obviously didn’t remaster the film from the original negative, it was never suggested that this was the case. They have simply presented an available print of the film, complete with grain, scratches and some (minor) color problems. Really it’s no different than seeing the film projected onto a drive-in screen in 1981. Does the picture quality ruin the experience of this great little thriller? Not really. Joel King’s cinematography is so memorable that it transcends these minor presentational flaws. Those who complain about edits and improper widescreen matting clearly have better copies of the film already. It’s such an obscure title that most people watching “Dawn” will be unaware of the missing celluloid. We’ve become such snobs in this digital age! The soundtrack has been mixed in Dolby 5.1 and sounds great; especially Fiedel’s minimalist score. Disc one contains the film (warts and all) and a commentary by the director. It’s always great fun to hear Lieberman’s anecdotes on his films. This particular commentary is very insightful (it’s just him alone; scene by scene) and makes this DVD a must for fans of his work. The second disc contains a great featurette on the making of the film and has candid interviews with Lieberman, Fiedel, Arywitz and actors Lemmon, Rose and Hunsaker. Though leads Henry and Benson are missing from the mix, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the making of this obscure classic. Two movie trailers from “Dawn’s” original release are included; providing a little insight as to why it didn’t perform any better at the box-office. Head-scratching voice-over intoning ‘They were warned, but didn’t understand the warning!’ doesn’t exactly display much confidence in the material. The original artwork for the film is also presented; it’s also pretty awful and makes one wonder what a competent campaign might have accomplished. A short photo gallery presents some publicity stills (and aforementioned advertising) while a Shriek Show trailer section showcases five genre titles in their library. Ultimately, the film presentation is flawed but decent; the extras are exceptional for those with even a passing interest.

1981 was a banner year for slasher films and, in retrospect, the year that really slashed any originality left in the horror genre. “Just Before Dawn” is one of the last drive-in titles to exude the surprise and genuine dread showcased in the best of the ‘70’s genre films. Two elements that got lost during the derivative last gasp of American horror films in the early eighties. Lieberman’s film is smartly executed, well acted, disturbing and scary. It’s a classic drive-in thriller not to be missed by fans of the era.