Review of The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II

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!