The Ending Of Berserk Explained
We all remember Rhys Wakefield's creepy yet terrifyingly charming performance as the Polite Leader in 2013's "The Purge." And Wakefield's talents continue to shine, particularly in his first directorial debut, 2019's "Berserk," which he stars opposite Nick Cannon. Fresh from getting dumped by his agent, Wakefield plays Evan, a struggling actor who desires to make his mark in the business by writing a hit screenplay with the help of his famous and hilariously off-the-wall friend, Raffy Rivers, portrayed by Cannon.
What initially seems like a buddy comedy film ends up turning into a whacky, psychedelic trip that results in multiple murders. Although the movie is rather inconsistent in its tone (via The Hollywood Reporter) and doesn't quite fully deliver on the comedic factor, Wakefield and Cannon do play well off each other. The premise is somewhat cliche, but Wakefield manages to keep the plot moving with twists and turns that are nonetheless entertaining (even if some are predictable). So, let's get into the "Berserk" ending.
A seemingly conventional tale of actors in Hollywood
"Berserk" opens with Rhys Wakefield's down-on-his-luck and agentless protagonist, Evan, who is on his way to Raffy Rivers' Hollywood Hills home to finish the zombie script they've been working on for two years. As Evan and Raffy are rehearsing a scene from their script, Evan comes to the realization that they have never fully experienced "true animalistic fear" in their entire lives, and therefore are unable to effectively feel what their characters are going through. After Raffy convinces Evan to smoke some weed and take shrooms to begin their trippy journey, Evan becomes paranoid, confusing reality with delusional images. The friends agree to do some crazy things to feel the fear that they've been missing out on, and the drugs only heighten these acts of immersing themselves in purely fear-based behaviors. With magic mushrooms in his bloodstream, Evan all-out hallucinates.
After Raffy pulls a mean prank on Evan involving one of their other celebrity friends, Huntley Thomas (Jack Falahee), the story starts to really spin out of control. Evan encounters what turns out to be Huntley wearing a ski mask running out of the front door of the house with his computer. Thinking that it's one of Raffy's crazy stalkers, Evan throws a hammer at the back of the culprit's head. But he soon discovers it's not a stalker, but their friend, Huntley, who is now dead. Shortly after they bring Huntley's body inside and figure out what to do, somebody from Raffy's past shows up out of the blue.
The appearance of Raffy's girlfriend makes things interesting
Just as "Berserk" turns rather dark, it becomes even more twisted when Jazz, Raffy's jealous girlfriend (Nora Arnezeder), shows up unexpectedly and points a gun at him. She's furious about leaked photos of Raffy with another girl that are all over the internet, and to appease Jazz, Evan and Raffy propose that she directs their movie. Although she doesn't believe a word of Raffy and his affectionate sweet talk, he almost convinces her to go outside and talk with him. But after she sees blood dripping from Huntley's head on the couch, she misfires her gun at Raffy's foot.
Almost suspiciously fast, the doorbell then rings, and a panicked Raffy orders Evan to hide Huntley's body in a closet. The person standing at the door reveals himself to be a police officer named Duane (James Roday), who says that he heard gunshots. Getting the feeling that something odd is going on, Officer Duane starts asking questions. Thinking on her feet, Jazz suggests that there's a sheriff role in their film that he would be perfect to play. Honored, Officer Duane wants to know more about his character, and the four of them begin discussing the role. Soon, Huntley's body falls out of the closet and makes a loud thud, and Officer Duane starts looking around the room. As he looks the other way, Jazz hits him on the back of the head with a vase, and he falls to the ground.
Evan wants to be the noble hero of his own story
Raffy and Evan bury Huntley's body in the woods. Being the good person that he is, Evan thinks that he should call 911 and turn himself in for murdering Huntley in self-defense. Still, Evan is high on drugs and is having difficulty distinguishing the real from the imagined. To complicate matters even more, Raffy pleads with Evan not to make the call because he doesn't want to go to jail. Knowing that Evan is allergic to nuts, Raffy goes as far as to mix a superfood drink with it and give it to Evan, who goes into anaphylactic shock.
Not intentionally wanting to kill his friend, Raffy sets his watch for six minutes and asks Evan where his EpiPen is. Evan responds that it's in the pocket of his jacket, which they put over Huntley's body to cover it. Raffy frantically runs to the spot where Huntley's body is buried, gets the pen, and races back to the house only to find that both Jazz and Evan have vanished. Afterward, Evan enacts his own revenge on Raffy by tying him up in a chair and threatening to shoot him after telling him that he always carries an extra EpiPen in his car. At this point, the movie continues to morph into a frantic non-stop ride packed with one surprise after another.
Raffy set Evan up and Officer Duane is the stalker
After Evan pushes tied-up Raffy into the pool, he and Jazz dive in to rescue him. Afterward, Raffy informs Evan that "it was all pretend" — he had Evan's agent let him go because he thought that it would be the only catalyst into forcing Evan to finish the script. Just as Evan breathes a sigh of relief, unhinged "Officer Duane" appears, divulging the information that he is Raffy's infamous stalker. Duane was already sneaking around Raffy's house, got dressed up in a police uniform, and was paid by the media to take the explicit photos of Raffy cheating on Jazz for $45,000.
Duane obtains the same gun that Evan pointed at Raffy just a few scenes before and points it at Jazz, who is mocking him and saying that he could go to prison for impersonating a police officer. Duane starts vomiting, and Evan lunges for the gun, which falls out of Duane's hand into a bush. As Evan tries to hold Duane back, Duane reaches for the gun and shoots Evan in the stomach. After stepping back and observing his bloody wound, Evan softly says, "The hero needs to die. That's the end," and falls into the pool. Jazz blankly stares at Evan's dead body floating in the water and affirms, "We're gonna need another writer."