Berserker: The Nordic Curse (Jefferson Richard, 1987)

A fun, cheesy, over-the-top slasher in the woods

Berserker is a low budget horror movie about a bunch of teens terrorized by a Viking warrior in the woods. That it’s largely forgotten these days is a damn shame, because it’s a really good and thoroughly enjoyable film.

Berserker takes place in the pristine wilderness of rural Utah — specifically an area originally settled by Norwegian immigrants, and that retains a high population of Norwegian descendants.

A group of teens, led by the cocksure alpha Josh, head out on a weeklong camping trip that promises plenty of opportunity for drinking, fucking, and just generally goofing off.

Josh has visited Rainbow Valley for years on camping trips with his father, so he knows the area well — including the local rumors surrounding a young girl’s death several years ago. Allegedly, she was mauled to death by a bear.

But was it really a bear, though?

And whatever happened to the cute (probably senile) elderly couple that were camping right where the teens now are? Did they just wander into the woods and get lost? Or is something more sinister afoot?

We learn — through mercifully efficient exposition — about the berserker myth of Norwegian folklore. Viking warriors who were especially vicious in life and cursed to haunt their bloodline for centuries to come; possessing their descendants, violently murdering whomever cross their paths, then killing themselves and their kin, until the entire berserker’s bloodline is eradicated.

Sure enough, there is a killer in the woods. But is it a bear or is it a berserker? If the latter, there are two prime suspects close at hand: the Norwegian owner of the campsite and his patrolman cousin.

Berserker is a lot of fun. It is extremely 80s: cheesy, over-the-top, and endearingly self-assured — a vibe perfectly encapsulated by the movie’s anthem, Stop/Cool Dude, an ear-worm which played on loop in my head for days after watching.

I loved this movie. Yes, it has its faults. A lot of it is just the teens wandering lost around the foggy forest, but the characters are so engaging and the soundtrack so groovy that it is never not entertaining.

Yes, the acting ability is somewhat uneven. On one end of the scale is the surprisingly talented Beth Toussaint, who breathes life and authenticity into one half of a besotted couple. On the other, there’s the tediously overwrought Rodney Montague who’s — sorry, there's no way to say it nicely — just plain atrocious.

But hey, this is a cheesy 80’s B-movie, so you take the bad with the good. And boy, is there a lot of good!

While I was watching it, X-Phile that I am, I was struck by how much Berserker felt like an early-to-mid episode of The X-Files. Berserker isn’t shot too differently from the TV show — lots of moody fog and purposely angles that deliberately obscure the killer — but just in the general vibe of the horror.

Is this a slasher movie we’re watching, or more of a werewolf movie? Berserker keeps you guessing. All we and the kids know is that they’re in trouble.

I had a lot of fun with this movie and I’ve got to say, the Vinegar Syndrome restoration (affiliate link) makes every frame pop with vibrant colors and deep dark blacks. A great movie!