| Berserker | |
| Director: | Jefferson Richard |
| Producer: | Jules Rivera |
| Starring: | Greg Dawson Joseph Alan Johnson Valerie Sheldon Beth Toussaint George "Buck" Flower |
| Music: | Chuck Francour Gary Griffin |
| Cinematography: | Henning Schellerup |
| Editing: | Marcus Manton |
| Distributor: | Shapiro Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Berserker (also known as Berserker: The Nordic Curse) is a 1987 American slasher film written and directed by Jefferson Richard. The film centers on a group of campers who are stalked and murdered by a Viking berserker.
According to an old Nordic legend, a Berserker was a bloodthirsty warrior who ate human flesh, was forbidden a restful death and fated to be reincarnated in their blood kin. A summer camp accidentally stumbles across the Berserker legend when it arises in Rainbow Valley, an area settled by Norwegian immigrants. The camp is abuzz with rumours of a wild bear killing people in the area, including speculation about an old couple who get lost. But is it really a bear?
Parts of the film were shot at Big Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.[1]
The film was released on DVD by Quantum Leap on October 22, 2001. It was later released by Hollywood DVD on August 2, 2004.[2] Vinegar Syndrome released the film on Blu-ray in 2019.
Andrew Smith from Popcorn Pictures awarded the film a score of 3/10, writing, Berserker sounded great and could have become a little slasher gem but the lack of the berserker on-screen is disappointing and ‘Gentle Ben’ the bear doesn’t have any need to be in here. One to avoid unless you have a burning desire to see every 80s slasher film".[3] Todd Martin from HorrorNews.net offered the film similar criticism, calling it "a boring, confusing, hokey, mess of a film".[4] Will and Roni agreed that the Viking angle was underplayed.