For last week’s #ShortMovieMonday I reviewed a Nightmare On Elm Street fan film written and directed by Chris R. Notarile called Krueger: A Tale From Elm Street. I was blown away by that effort and I’m thrilled to say I’m returning to Elm Street today with Notarile’s follow up to that feature called Krueger: Another Tale From Elm Street.

As I did with the first short, I took this description from the film’s IMDB page:

In Springwood, long before he became a demon of dreams, Freddy Krueger stalked the streets under another name – The Springwood Slasher. A little girl will learn why she should never get into a stranger’s car.

Krueger: Another Tale From Elm Street does what no other Elm Street film has done before: It shows Freddy Krueger in his element… seducing little children. I’ve always been a big fan of Freddy’s back story. No… that doesn’t mean I advocate child molestation. Far from it. In fact, that’s the one part of the Freddy mythology that I don’t think has been explored. In the original films, we’re told Freddy is a child abductor / molester but we’re never shown him in action. Notarile gives us that chilling vision.

Excuse the pun, but Robert Lombardi absolutely nails the character of Freddy Krueger once again. Everything including his body language, the way he talks to the little girls and the web of lies that he weaves shows the viewer that this man is a predator to the core. He’s cold, calculating and viscous. He’s once again done a great job invoking the thought of Robert Englund while bringing enough nuance to the role that he’s not in Englund’s shadow. Huge props to Robert Lombardi here.

Breanna Lakatos is outstanding as well. We teach our kids to be leery of strangers and she really does do everything right. She continues to say no, no, no and only changes her tune when she really feels that she can not only trust Krueger but also that her mother is in real danger.

And this is where the film really hits home. If you’re a parent this will really chill you to the core. The idea of someone kidnapping your child is the most horrific thing you can possibly imagine. Here we’re shown just how easily it can happen. In between Lombardi’s delivery of the line, “What’s your name?” at the 2:10 mark to the time Freddy takes the little girl’s hand at the 3:37 mark, 1:20 elapses. In that time a child has said “no” multiple times, and the predator has skillfully confused the child into believing he’s not only her friend, but that he’s going to take her to her mother who’s been hurt. One minute and twenty seven seconds… to lose your child forever. Just think about that for a moment. THIS is the true brilliance of not only the film, but of the character of Fred Krueger. This is before he was a demon that haunts kids in their dreams… this is Krueger at his most horrific. While other NOES films cover the topic in theory, only the terrible reboot really shows Freddy in his element. None do it nearly this well.

I can only assume there there’s a kill in this film… or perhaps far worse. Luckily it’s all done off screen which I appreciate. As I’ve said in the past I have a hard time watching children being harmed so I’m glad Notarile made that choice. Again, I think Breanna Lakatos did a great job throughout and that includes her time after capture when she’s face to face with the gloved Krueger.

Just as Krueger (A Tale From Elm Street) did, Krueger (Another Tale From Elm Street) does an amazing job of tying itself back to the source material. This includes body language, story, scenery and audio cues. The one problem I had with the first entry was that there were too many references to “dreams” and other things that these characters at this time wouldn’t know about. This time around Notarile has corrected that and it makes the film that much better.

Once again, this won’t be much for non NOES fans, but if you’re a fan of the franchise I’d highly recommend it. It’s SUPER short, running just over 6 minutes but that’s not to say there isn’t a ton there… there is. Give it a watch. You’ll be glad you did. You can find Blinky Productions on the web at www.blinky-productions.com as well as on the film’s Facebook fan page. Tell them ScareTissue sent you!

Check out the full film below and let us know what you think!