To date, the 1981 slasher Just Before Dawn has been very tricky to find on streaming and on physical media. It’s only fleetingly popped up on streaming services in recent years, and the out-of-print Code Red Blu-ray now fetches a steep price in second hand marketplaces.
It turns out that a surreal legal battle is to blame, one where ownership over the slasher was at stake. Variety reports the details of the bizarre case that unfolded last month in a Florida courtroom to determine rights, but the bottom line awaiting the end of very salacious courtroom drama is that the jury ruled in favor of Vlado Hreljanovic, who helped produce the 1981 film with his father.
Hreljanovic plans to release a 4K restoration of Just Before Dawn next year.
Because it’s been so inaccessible for so long, Just Before Dawn remains one of the more obscure horror movies that emerged from the Golden Age of Slashers from 1978-1984. Directed by Jeff Lieberman (Squirm, Satan’s Little Helper), this slasher breaks the textbook Final Girl mold in many ways. Perhaps more thrillingly, it holds a few nasty tricks up its sleeve for its killer reveal and final confrontation.
Five young people trek into the mountainous backwoods of Oregon to find rural property one of them has just inherited, despite being warned to stay away by the forest ranger. They find themselves stalked and hunted by a psychopath.
Gregg Henry, Chris Lemmon, and Deborah Benson, along with George Kennedy and Sleepaway Camp’s Mike Kellin in supporting roles, star.
Patrick Bromley noted what makes Just Before Dawn so special in his spoiler-filled retrospective: “At a time when slashers were just starting to be churned out as crude product on the regular, Just Before Dawn demonstrates real artistry in the way it’s put together. In a subgenre not often known for its formal craftsmanship, Just Before Dawn is, first and foremost, a really well-made movie.“
It is one of the Golden Age’s unheralded greats, and, luckily, it sounds like it’ll finally be made much more accessible with a new 4K restoration soon.
