Just Before Dawn

Five young friends head up into the mountains for a camping trip. The forest ranger warns them it's not safe, but they choose to go up anyway. Before long, their weekend of fun turns into a fight for survival. Just Before Dawn isn't exactly an original film. It's got elements of The Hills Have Eyes and just about any other backwoods slasher you could name. However, it's still an entertaining slasher flick. The settings are incredible, the cast is decent and the music is on point. Above all, the movie has a good command of atmosphere. So, even though the pacing slows way down in the middle of the film, it still keeps your attention.

Rating: 70%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Fun Fact: Gregg Henry, who played Warren, was also in Payback and Brian De Palma's Body Double.

The Serpent and the Rainbow

Dennis Alan, a Harvard anthropologist, heads down to Haiti to look for a drug used in zombification rituals, hoping to find the next super anesthetic. With the help of Dr. Marielle Duchamp, Dennis locates Christophe Durand, a man who had been pronounced dead several years earlier and who has since become a local legend. Dennis' quest for the drug is complicated after he runs up against Captain Dargent Peytraud, a high ranking member of the secret police, who warns Dennis to leave Haiti or face consequences worse than death. The Serpent and the Rainbow has some amazing locations and great camera work, but seems to be missing some connective tissue. Overdubbed narration is used several times to smooth over some of the gaps, but some scenes are still awkwardly joined. 

Rating: 62%

(Image from IMDB)