Three characters make the realization that none of them have ever felt true-fear, so over the course of one night, they set out to trick each other into feeling it.

On one fateful Halloween night, a comedy of errors unfolds for two Hollywood actors as a drug-fueled evening trying to quickly pen a legendary and meaningful zombie movie turns into a night of terrors. Co-written, directed, and starring Rhys Wakefield, an Australian actor who you know from The Purge (2013) and True Detective (Season 3), his new movie, Berserk (2019), is a wacky but dark indie thriller that marks his feature-length directorial debut.

Evan (Rhys Wakefield), a failed actor, and wannabe screenwriter is on his last leg pulling together a medial script tentatively titled “The Hollywood Hills Project” — a zombie movie starring himself, and as luck would have it, the talent of a Hollywood actor he’s befriended, named Raffy Rivers (Nick Cannon). If they do not complete the script by morning, Evan’s career will be dead by dawn, and Raffy will continue to fade from the spotlight. Worried that their leading character isn’t manly enough and that the movie isn’t frightening enough, Raffy and Evan decide to scare themselves into some authentic-fear writing by taking mushrooms and exposing themselves to things that might scare them; Raffy even goes as far as inviting actors to come and mess with them, but the antics soon spiral out of control. Eventually, a jilted girlfriend, Jazz (Nora Arnezeder), upset about Raffy’s recently leaked cheating sex-scandal, as well as an offbeat and clingy police officer show up at the house, exacerbating the unfortunate events, and throwing a wrench into finishing their script.

Berserk was a fun ride with a small cast who made a valiant effort in putting together a comedic thriller. The pacing was great, and I felt the look of the very sunny daytime and pool-lit nighttime activities created a dreamy atmosphere. The visuals during the drug trip, in particular, were a great surprise — surreal and vibrant as Rhys Wakefield seemingly made full use of the color spectrum. As the drugs further set in for the characters, the colors got more intense and actions more manic, with visuals of floating over the pool and seeing images of each other instead of themselves in the mirror. What was distracting to me though was that these colorized graphics were used all throughout the movie even when they were no longer tripping, and along with some plot points, like an impromptu dance scene and the colorful musical flourishes during dark scenes, seemed misplaced and forced into the movie for style rather than necessity? It was interesting that within the movie, Evan was worried about inauthenticity, and I felt the same way about the actual movie — it was missing fear and urgency for this situation, so the movie fell flat.

I’m not sure if it is the dialogue that failed the actors or the actors that failed the dialogue, but at times the scenes were a struggle dramatically. With all of the comedy that was thrown into the movie, the film felt like a mix of Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) and Very Bad Things (1998), with the thriller aspect of the narrative more of an afterthought. Berserk could have greatly benefited from some fleshing out with suspenseful moments, greater peril to their deeds being exposed, and/or just better casting. I am not a fan of directors starring in their own movies, looking at your Rhys, however, it was at least a pleasant surprise to see Nick Cannon in this as his partner in crime, who I must admit, gave an uncharacteristically layered performance, but with the actions and dialogue that the scenes called for, sometimes shined but sometimes felt forced like the rest of the cast.

I am not suggesting that you partake in drugs, but this is the kind of movie that seems made for such an activity, not only because the characters are doing drugs in the movie, but because it might make the movie more enjoyable and the forced acting less noticeable. It is just missing that certain je ne sais quoi that would make this a solid slam dunk. However, Berserk is not a waste of time and I find it to be a good segue into the directorial seat for Wakefield. Rhys Wakefield’s comedy crime thriller, Bersek, is due for release April 5th, 2019 via VOD and limited theater release.