Viking: The Berserkers (2014) Reviews

• Small Budget Viking Ritual Effort

  t-dooley-69-3869162015-01-10

  Set in 835 AD we meet a Saxon peasant called Wade. He gets captured by some Vikings and both he and his brother get carted off to the Vikings den, which are some tents and twigs on the side of a hill. There they are chosen to take part in a Viking ritual that involves the use of sacrificial human hearts. This is done by some sort of Priestess witch who has a fetish for heavy use of mascara. This ritual is done by releasing the victims and hunting them down (like in 'The Naked Prey'). Cue a lot of one on one scrapping, some blood letting, minimal dialogue and some brilliant examples of prosthetic bad dentistry. The Berserker bit comes from when the Viking lot take some sort of drug and go 'berserk' - which is actually where we get the name from. It was more commonly used for battles where you could use an amphetamine rush in order to take on the enemy - but hey a human sacrifice chase will do too I suppose. Now this is a small budget and it shows. However, there are some pretty good performances, the music is also really very accomplished and the continuity guy did an exceptional job. They also make the most out of what they have got to work with and it has a genuine feeling of plausibility. However, I was still unengaged at times and got a bit bored with the constant brawling and lack of anything meaningful to engage my cerebral cortex. If you like Viking films you may want to see this even if they don't have pointy horned helmets.

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• Viking-hunt

  kosmasp2015-07-05

  Not the best Viking movie out there (can't speak about the current TV show, haven't watched it yet), but a small budget effort, that some might find interesting. Many accuse me for trying to find even the smallest positive aspect in a movie. Actually that's pretty accurate most of the time, as in this case. So you don't have a big story, you don't have a movie many will remember (if they watch it). But it's not the worst movie I've seen by a long shot (no pun intended). So while the action is OK, the hairstyles might be not really accurate for the time period this plays (especially from the female lead) and the acting might not be the best, this is a low budget movie, try to remember that or don't watch it at all (you won't be missing out on that much of course).

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• ARE YOU READY TO DIE?

  nogodnomasters2018-11-19

  A group of Saxons with bad haircuts are taken prisoner by a group of Norse with worse haircuts. In some kind of ritual 5 are released and hunted by berserker Vikings with KISS make-up so they can cut out their hearts. Wade (Sol Heras) is being hunted, but wants to circle back to save his younger brother. Apocalypto was done so much better, it made it difficult to watch this film that takes place in 835 AD. That was the year the Vikings invaded the Isle of Sheppey, although it is not known if this was the exact location. The film rightly shows the power of the völva, a woman who was a seer and priestess. Her demand for human sacrifice, especially the way depicted in the film,is to say the least is controversial. This goes into the realm of historical fiction that border on fantasy. Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. Beating heart being cut out and shown to victim.

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• We've seen this before

  Leofwine_draca2018-10-10

  VIKING: THE BERSERKERS is yet another cheap indie action adventure set in the Dark Ages. Some peaceful villagers are attacked by a band of marauding Vikings, some killed, some taken captive. Those taken captive are thereafter forced to participate in a manhunt by their captors. This is simplistic stuff, shot entirely outdoors in the cold, with a no-name cast and a real predictability in terms of plotting. Inspiration seems to have been drawn from the likes of APOCALYPTO, VALHALLA RISING, and CENTURION, but it doesn't hold a candle to any of those pictures. The bad guys have a tendency to overact and the choreography is rather uninteresting. There's quite a bit of gore but when you care nothing for the underwritten characters it doesn't really make an impact.

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