Writer/director Charles B. Pierce deceased a couple of months a ago at age 71. He may not have been the greatest cinematic genius who ever lived, but personally I really liked him. Pierce worked as a set decorator for multiple great movies and almost single-handedly made (wrote, produced & directed) a couple of cool modest classics in the horror genre, like "The Legend of Boggy Creek", "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" and "The Evictors". Particularly the latter two are terrific but sadly underrated gems with a raw atmosphere and great suspense. Rather than re-watching those classics in his honor, which is what we should have done instead, my mate and I watched something "different" from Charles B. Pierce
A Viking movie with a truly cool-looking VHS cover and starring Lee "Six Million Dollar Man" Majors! How bad can it be? Well, "The Norseman" is tremendously bad, unfortunately, and that's a real shame because the basic premise showed so much potential. Charles B. Pierce's script departs from the existing theory that the Norsemen already reached the northern American shores approximately five hundred years before Christopher Columbus did (they named it Wineland) and came into violent conflict with the aboriginals. The idea of bloody battles and carnage between Vikings and Native Americans sounds awesome, but this film is a boring and ludicrous mess. A boat full of Norsemen led by the mighty Thorvald (Lee Majors
I've never seen a cleaner and more properly shaved Viking) head towards America in search for their king Eurich, who went missing during a previous conquering trip. The king and several of his traveling companions were indeed captured by the Native Americans, and they are well prepared for any possible next encounters with intruders. Charles B. Pierce's screenplay for "The Norseman" is completely inaccurate and downright dumb! The Vikings supposedly were the most barbaric warriors in our history books, but here they behave like a bunch of terrified sissies. They drivel about courageous warfare and Northern Gods, but they accomplish absolutely nothing. In fact, it are the Native Americans that behave like the Norsemen ought to! They are the ones who enslaved and even blinded their Viking prisoners. The fight sequences are laughably weak and bloodless. The acting performances are all wooden and uninspired. The only half-decent performance comes from Jack Elam as the Death Dreamer. He's some kind of wizard who forewarns the Norsemen about upcoming dangers. The Vikings claim that nobody has ever seen his face, even though he walks around with his bearded face exposed the entire time. That, along with the fact there apparently existed black Vikings, is the low point of "The Norseman". "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" and "The Evictors" come with my highest possible recommendation, but play stay far away from this Charles B. Pierce turkey!
Review of The Norseman
