Berserker: Hell's Warrior (Rifftrax)

Film Year:  2004
Genre:  Action, Fantasy
Director:  Paul Matthews
Starring:  Paul Johansson, Kari Wuhrer, Craig Sheffer, Patrick Bergin
Rifftrax Year:  2018
Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

The Movie

"ODIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"

Based on the Norse mythology, Berserker:  Hell's Warrior sees two brothers who seek to free a powerful and seductive witch from the curse of Odin.  But only one who is pure may rescue her, as one boy is makes it through the ring of fire protecting her, and the other is horribly burned.  The unscathed brother asks the witch to heal his brother, which links the trio together through a curse:  they are destined to be reincarnated throughout time and be at war with each other.  Their war continues in modern day.

This cursed love story of reincarnation almost feels like it could be a bad Twilight-esque young adult novel, but someone decided to Game of Thrones up the gore and steal the style of Highlander, all the while doing so on the budget smaller than what is given to one of those direct to DVD Scorpion King sequels.  Truth-be-told there is probably a concept worth salvaging in Berserker.  It needs a script doctor and a higher budget, but I can see why somebody thought this movie was worth making.  I even like parts of it, including the somewhat obvious "twist" ending that "shocks" us with the secret behind the curse.  But alas, the film is a cheapie and it's not very coherent, though there is a diamond in the rough here.

Rifftrax fans might recognize Kari Wuhrer from her supporting roles in Anaconda and Sharknado 2, while here she plays the female lead.  Wuhrer was never a great actress, though she admittedly looks good as a vampire-witch, though awful as a bookish, scientist in modern day.  Usually when I see her in a production I can somewhat guess as to what to expect from a film, as she's usually cast based on the implants in her chest as opposed to how well she delivers the material.  This movie actually shows off said implants with a lengthy sequence of nudity, so the filmmakers get their money's worth out of her this time around.  But that's really the type of film Berserker is, a low-budget showcase of sex and violence without much competence nor any desire to be judged.  Based on that, I don't think I should judge it any more than I have to.

The Trax

Berserker:  Hell's Warrior has a lot to offer Rifftrax, but at times it doesn't play to their strengths.  There are sometimes lengthy sequences of silent action for the guys to riff over, but when the film desires to deliver exposition it rattles it off at a rapid pace, and if you miss it it's gone forever.  And unfortunately with the desire to keep the humor flow moving Mike, Kevin, and Bill find themselves riffing over a lot of dialogue, sometimes making this rapid, confusing movie even more confusing than it needs to be.

But just taking the humor in general, I find Beserker rather uneven.  The first two acts of the riff feel a tad stale, safe, and underwhelming, and a lot of the material there feels like material I've heard before in other riffs.  When the action picks up in modern day there is a slow incline in laughter.  Finally as we enter the third act it seems the humor has finally found a groove with this movie, and that groove can be quite hilarious.  The torture scene alone makes Berserker watching at least once.

"He must have this mixed around.  You torture them for information, you don't murder them and hope they speak as they die."

That in mind, I think I can recommend Berserker on the basis of two things:  It's hilarious third act and the craziness of the film itself.  But if you want laughter from beginning to end, I'd probably practice hesitance in picking this one up.  Even if the riff had aspects that won me over I don't really picture myself revisiting this one down the road that often.  What didn't work in the riff still makes up the majority of it.

Average