WEEK ONE (Sept 28-Oct 4): FEARFUL FORESTS
For my fourth marathon (
which you can peruse here), I had a week dedicated to more obscure slasher films. One can watch only so many Wes Craven-directed films before wanting to expand their horizons, so it provided an opportunity to dig into some of the best known least known works from the good old days. Some (like
He Knows You're Alone) were so derivative of
Halloween that there was good reason why the best thing it was known for was being the first film Tom Hanks was in. Others (like
Fade to Black) were aiming as high to be
Scream about 15 years ahead of time, but running into a slight problem of a script that has such trouble wanting to be one good thing that it decides to be all the not-so-good things. Another still was, well,
Nightmare, and the less reminders I can have of that, the better. Of the films from the classic slasher period,
Curtains seemed to please me the most, thanks to a solid setup and some highly memorable scenes. Later in the week, when I finally got to the sublime
StageFright, with its "all killer, no filler" approach to the story and incredible A/V qualities, it resulted not only a great cap to a weak of somewhat roller coaster-like tendencies, but it also inspired me to try and seek out more accomplished fare in the genre for later viewing.
I knew of the existence of
Just Before Dawn around the same time I was making my list that year, but somehow it had escaped my sight. Some of it had to do with the book I had used for that week (and still continue to use) offering a little less than a page's worth of nothing but praise, and some of it had to do with (at the time, at least) the difficulty in watching it in the first place, as it had been out of print for a long time in the US, with little indication that it was going to be rectified in the future. I kept it in mind for a while, thinking it was the kind of film that seemed versatile enough to fit in a variety of different themes that I had been chewing on. In the midst of research for this year, the praise continued amongst the reference material I had added to assist me. Its time had finally come, and finding other forest-based films was hardly a chore. In a weird way, this little-seen slasher film had become an impetus for an entire theme. Expectations were lofty for a film about backwoods psychos and the plucky college students they slice up, to say the least.
For me, a film is always off to a great start when the opening credits offer more than just a mere crawl of names and professions. Opening with an evocative image of a sunrise peaking just over the mountains, it maintains that shot while it slowly rises into more view. Brad Fielder's haunting electronic score plays alongside the imagery, suggesting a kind of danger that feels too close already, even before we see a single human being, friend or foe alike. It's such a strong opening that I get worried that the rest of the film won't live up to it.
I needn't have worried. For 90 minutes, I was fixed to my TV screen, basking in the terrific photography, the excellent direction, the thoughtful camera setups, the eerie score, the likable cast, the inspired plot twists, the whole damn thing. After a while, you actually forget that this had such a familiar premise, because everything falls into place in ways you never expected but always wanted.
It helps that the film is continually keeping you on your toes throughout. Director Jeff Lieberman directs the hell out of this film, and as such goes for a vibe where even the playful moments are fraught with foreboding dread, where you expect everything to go wrong at any moment. This is further exacerbated by the majority of the film taking place during daytime, upending the expectation that the proverbial freaks only come out at night. Meanwhile, Lieberman is able to sneak in some intriguing thematic undertones, like the efforts of the locals to "fit in" with the city folk, to some rather strong gender role reversals that pay off in spades during the film's jaw-dropping finale. It's hard to imagine that this was the same guy responsible for MST3K favorite
Squirm, but it goes to show that one bad movie doesn't have to define a director.
In a weird way, going into
Just Before Dawn expecting it to be somewhat run-of-the-mill is as effective as going in completely blind, as it's able to sneak up on you much like the hulking killer in this film. It's one thing to be a very good slasher film, but I'd go as far as to proclaim it to be one of the best films I've seen over the course of these six marathons.
Next film: Since there's only one film left, I guess this part has a need again. Genre filmmaking maestro Walter Hill evokes a bit of Vietnam when an Army reserve practices drills where they're not wanted in
Southern Comfort, and it's likely that even well armed soldiers won't be enough to stop what's coming.
