The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II (2011)

Well pretty much from the start you can see how much of an improvement this is over part one of The Nightmare Ends on Halloween, the costumes and masks look a lot better, the camera work is clearer, it moves faster and the action is better staged, the lighting, all of it, you can see how much Chris Notarile had improved his basic skills as a director in the intervening years before he made this short. It picks up right where the first part ended, with the scheming Freddy Kruegar being condemned to eternal damnation by the king of hell Pinhead for attempting to escape the netherworld a second time and being sentenced to fight for his unnatural life against the chainsaw-wielding hillbilly maniac Leatherface, the dark and deadly stalker of Halloween Michael Myers, and the undying and unstoppable might of his old foe, the slaughterer of Camp Crystal Lake, Jason Voorhies, one after another, and finding himself transported to each of their respective hunting grounds as he does so. And after surviving each trial by combat through his own grim determination and sheer viciousness, the nightmare slasher of Elm Street comes up against the death-dealing torture judge lord of the Cenobites himself, who, rather than engaging in any form of combat, simply takes away all of Freddy's supernatural abilities, rendering him a mere man once again, who is helplessly strung up as his bloodthirsty cohorts close in for the kill... Has the suddenly mortal Freddy met his final doom at last? Well we'll probably never get to know because Notarile has yet to make a third part! It's all good though, perhaps the numerous short films about Freddy that Notarile has made since could be seen as serving as a continuation of sorts.. Most of the fan made short films like this are often just horribly stiff and awkward, but like every short directed by Notarile that I've seen he's the exception to the rule and this works and is very entertaining. The guy that played Freddy in the first part was fine to me, but the actor in this, Robert Lombardi, did a fantastic job and he embodied a lot of the looks and attitude of Robert Englund. Even his voice was great, I loved all of Freddy's dialogue, it really seemed like stuff that Freddy would actually say I thought. And the 'point' is that if you're a fan of the movies these characters come from then it's just a lot of fun see them share the screen as it were. Great short, it's action packed it never stops moving and it ends on a hell of a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more, fun watch. Please make one more someday Chris!! X

What's the point? It's great to be a super fan, & if you wanna make short films, then do it, just don't bite off more than you can chew. The Krueger shorts were a good idea, and manageable, but Freddy vs Jason vs Michael Myers vs Leatherface featuring Pinhead? That's more than most Hollywood writers can chew. So why bother? If you can't do it right, why do it? At least when it comes to Indie filmmaking. I mean they could've all looked much worse, but Freddy's giant nose, Myers's mask sticking out all weird at the neck, and Leatherface's goblin mask w/giant chin? They were too distracting to ignore. 90%-All of Freddy's dialogue was god awful, and nothing like the character. They used the same trope twice in a row with Myers and Jason both dropping their famous weapon. And Leatherface...ahh it was all pretty bad. It was good for one of these weird Batman Dead End shorts, but overall it was pointless. Oh yeah, and there was ZerO Gore.

This is an 8-minute short film written and directed by the very prolific Chris R. Notarile. It includes Freddy Krueger as the main character, but also several other very popular scary guys from famous horror movies. Quite a challenger for Freddy to stand up to all of them will he succeed? In any case this is not the end, even if the title says otherwise. Notarile made a couple more short films in the last 5 years and many of them included Freddy Krueger, mostly in his life before turning into a super-villain. I personally am not the greatest horror film fan or Freddy Krueger fan under the sun, but I still had a good time watching it and I can see why some people consider Notarile a hero in terms of fan-made movies. All in all, a good watch. Thumbs up.

For an early effort made at the start of his career in 2004, Chris R. Notarile managed to make an enjoyable, interesting and well made short film called "The Nightmare Ends on Halloween". The fact that it was shot on home video is further proof of how good it was and showed promise of the talented filmmaker that Notarile would become.The only drawback to the original film was that, at that time, a suitable pool of good actors wasn't available to Mr. Notarile.Fast forward seven years and the sequel "The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II" not only outshines, but buries the first film. The evidence is the fact that the ending of the original film has been completely re shot for Part II and then leads directly into the battle! Compare the two versions of this scene. It's obvious Part II is far superior! The first thing you notice is how professional everything is. Superior lighting, camera work, editing and direction. The story is less talk and all action from the start! Action fans will love the fight scenes and horror fans will appreciate Notarile's attention to detail both in characters and story.Regarding the acting - OMG what an improvement! Hector De La Rosa, Anthony Palmisano, Josh Rothman and Jerry Todisco don't even have dialogue, but they totally nail the essence of Jason, Michael and Leatherface. Kevin Lennon completely embodies Pinhead (with fantastic Pinhead voice by Notarile) and Roberto Lombardi is absolutely perfect as Freddy Krueger! Lombardi plays Freddy more as a homage instead of flat out copying Robert Englund, while portraying the character his way! This film and "Krueger (A Tale from Elm Street) are proof that Notarile and Lombardi can handle this material and the fans seem to agree!