Berserker

Boasting an insane, bear-mask wearing, cannibalistic Viking for a killer, Berserker promises to be a cut above its mid-80s slasher contemporaries. Unfortunately, director Jefferson Richard does nothing to capitalise on this cool concept, instead preferring to travel down a path already well-worn by countless other stereotypical horrors.

Dumb, horny, pot-smoking teens vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods; a country cop with no patience for city kids; a creepy campfire tale to set the scene; alfresco sex followed by death: this one packs in the clichés whilst neglecting to make the most of the one thing that could possibly have saved it from mediocrity—its bad-ass-sounding Norwegian nut-job.

For most of the film, all that is shown of the titular berserker are fleeting shots of a clawed paw; frequent shots of a grizzly bear wandering in the woods even go to mislead viewers into thinking that the killer has somehow taken on ursine form (although a fight between the berserker and the meandering grizzly eventually clears up this confusion). In the film's closing moments, we finally get to see the killer, and it soon becomes patently obvious why Richard decided to keep him hidden for so long: he looks crap!

Also serving to make the production look super cheap and unconvincing are the terrible lighting and smoke effects designed to create a creepy atmosphere, but which just look plain daft, and the crap gore effects which consist of a few naff claw scratches and a smattering of fake blood.

Thanks heavens for the fact that the film has a half decent cast (including a turn from prolific genre legend George 'Buck' Flower) and that gratuitous outdoor shagging scene—otherwise it would be a complete waste of time.

Ever since I was a kid I remember seeing this at the video store and wanting to see it but for some odd reason I never did. I think the reason why is because my dad was obsessed with Vikings which kinda turned me off from it. But now that Vikings turn me on (lol) I'm happy that it was given the blu ray treatment. And was it worth the wait? Well mostly it's not amazing but it's a fun flick. The setup is pretty standard as a bunch of pretty young things head up to a campsite for ths normal sex and partying. Unfortunately they encounter a viking slasher/demonic bear. The kills are fun and the sex scene is surprisingly graphic. The boys are hunky and the girls are pretty. Sadly none of them are given much character development, they are however dispatched in a surprisingly gruesome fashion. All in all it's a fun 80s slasher gem.

3.5/5

A group of teenagers (who actually look to be 30) head up to a cabin for some fun and sun, but come under attack by an ancient viking beserker.

An awful film with poor acting, direction, and writing, even by slasher movie standards. Sloopy editing doesn't help much either. Features more sex and nudity then usual though, but even that can't make this entertaining. My rating: 3 out of 10.

Some teens head up to cabin for a weekend of fun and hot sex (even out in the middle of an open forest), but come under attack by what appears to a viking berserker. Or is it really a bear? Poorly crafted and made slasher film even by the standards of this genre, features inept acting and direction, despite somewhat intriguing premise. Looks like it was made on a budget of about $100. Disappointing effort from Prism Pictures. Rated R; Sexual Situations, Violence, Nudity, and Profanity.

The berserkers, we learn, were a special breed of cannibalistic Viking warriors that used to wear bear masks and skins and attack their enemies with a primal rage. The premise of six kids being hunted by one such "creature" in the middle of the woods on a dark night may sound scary, but this film is too much like so many others to make it so. It does feature the requisite amounts of blood and sex, and also more-than-requisite amounts of wandering around, while the persistently ominous score keeps on playing and playing. (*1/2)