Color, 1987, 85 mins. 13 secs.
Directed by Jef Richard
Starring Joseph Alan Johnson, Greg Dawson, Valerie Sheldon, Shannon Engemann, Beth Toussaint, Rodney Montague, George "Buck" Flower
Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray & DVD) (US R0 HD/NTSC) / WS (1.85:1) (16:9), Consolidated (DVD) (UK R2 PAL)
can count the number of slasher films that 
open with a metal-style depiction of a Nordic monster on one hand. In fact, you can count them on one finger... and that singular honor goes to Berserker (or according to the actual title card, Berserker: The Nordic Curse), a Utah-shot oddity that throws in bear attacks and lots of slashed faces to grab your attention. Barely seen in any theaters at all, Berserker managed to find a decent amount of viewership on VHS from Prism in the late '80s before dropping out of circulation for years until a very underwhelming British DVD came along in '04 culled from a dated tape master. Now it's back and growling in the woods thanks to a 2019 Blu-ray/DVD edition from Vinegar Syndrome complete with a fresh 2k scan from the 16mm camera negative. Anyone who squinted and scratched their heads trying to figure out what the heck was happening during those long nocturnal attack sequences will find a far different and more coherent experience here that deserves a place as one of the weirdest slashers of the golden era. 
opportunities for sex and pot smoking. Mike (Johnson), Josh (Dawson), Kathy (Sheldon), Kristie (Engemann), Shelly (Toussant), and local scholar Larry (Montague) crank up the '80s rock music and hit the road only to get pulled over by a cop who warns them about the area. Finally they end up renting a secluded cabin, "the 
Miller place," from Scandinavian landowner Pappy Nyquist (character actor and smut veteran Flower) and settle in only to find themselves the target of a clawed menace that tries to rip off their faces one by one. 
minimal background 
info; however, they do a fine job covering the history of '80s horror, the role of hard rock and hairspray in the era, the tropes involved in some of the characters, and plenty more. A brief 18-second video interview with writer-director Jefferson "Jef" Richard precedes the feature itself, and he also turns up for the more substantial "A Family Affair" (25m46s) featurette covering his early days in L.A. in the late '60s, his time as an actor, his zeal to do just about any job in the industry, the mounting of this production via porno filmmaker money in Santa Monica, the use of family members in various capacities behind the camera, and his subsequent gigs on numerous Hollywood productions. In "Valley Girl" (10m46s), Engemann explains how she got the part while acting in Salt Lake City and got to show off her screaming skills while also touching on her ventures since then including some high-profile music work with Dolly Parton and channeling her inner Valley mannerisms for this role. The Johnson appears in "Beware of Bears" (16m20s) to explain how he got the role because of his job with the film's production company and getting to emote opposite the most famous ursine actor of the decade, Bart the Bear. Apparently this might be the only film whose set was landmarked by a dead cow skull, too. Finally Vinegar Syndrome's Brad Henderson conducts an audio interview with actor Mike Riley (9m56s), who plays the buff titular Berserker, about being cast thanks to his convincing audition roar and the experience of doing a bear wrestling scene that helped him find his limits as an actor. A still gallery (1m38s) is also included from the collection of Red Shirt Pictures' Michael Felsher.