Just Before Dawn is a 1981 horror film directed by Jeff Lieberman. The movie follows a group of five young adults who arrive at a remote mountain region that they have recently inherited.
The group consists of Warren (Gregg Henry), Jonathan (Chris Lemmon), Megan (Jamie Rose), Connie (Deborah Benson), and Daniel (Ralph Seymour). On their way to the property, the group passes by the forest ranger Roy McLean (George Kennedy), who warns them of the dangers of the area. He tells them about a killer, who is rumored to be living deep in the woods and armed with a machete.
Ignoring the warnings, the group sets up camp near a mountain lake. As night falls, they start to hear strange noises, but they dismiss it as the wind rattling the trees, and the noise of small animals moving through the underbrush. However, as the night wears on, the noises become more persistent and alarming.
Soon, the group starts disappearing one by one. Each of the victims is killed off-screen, and the identity of the killer is kept hidden for most of the movie. As the morning approaches, Warren and Megan find themselves the only survivors, and they come across the killer's shack deep in the woods. They discover the maniac's secret, which is a genuinely shocking plot twist - the maniac turns out to be one of the campers, who has been possessed by an evil entity that is lurking in the forest.
Just Before Dawn boasts an eerie, atmospheric setting and some genuinely suspenseful moments. The movie has since gained a cult following and is regarded as one of the best horror films of the 1980s.