Robert England stars in the new trailer for Natty Knocks, which reunites the horror icon with his Phantom of the Opera director. A veteran character actor with a career stretching back to the 1970s, Englund recently received the retrospective documentary treatment with Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, which focused largely on the actor’s long run as a horror icon, a run that of course began with 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Though it’s been twenty years since he last donned Elm Street villain Freddy Krueger’s famous bladed glove, Englund continues to be active in horror films, seeming to relish his status as the heir to Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price.

Freddy Krueger actor Englund’s latest foray into horror in fact sees him reuniting with a director of one of his prior fright-films, Dwight H. Little, who directed Englund in 1989’s Phantom of the Opera, and directs him again in the new horror film Natty Knocks, which just dropped its first trailer (via Bloody Disgusting).

As can be seen in the clip, Englund isn’t required to wear any prosthetic makeup in this movie, as he plays a psychiatrist to one of the film’s young characters. But though Englund may not be unleashing any mayhem in Natty Knocks, the trailer makes it clear that others do, as the film looks to be very gruesome and bloody, and clearly inspired by 1980s horror.

Natty Knocks Features Several Famous Horror Figures

The synopsis for Natty Knocks reads, “A small-town babysitter and the kids she is looking after struggle to survive a serial killer named Abner Honeywell.” If that makes the movie sound like an entry in the Halloween franchise, perhaps that’s appropriate, as Natty Knocks director Little previously helmed a film in that long-running series, 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Natty Knocks has an even deeper Halloween connection than that though, as the movie features Halloween 4 star Danielle Harris. Also starring in Natty Knocks is Bill Moseley, whom hardcore horror fans will know as Chop Top from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, along with many other horror roles.

Natty Knocks may indeed have a plot that’s incredibly familiar from numerous other horror films, but the presence of big horror names like Englund, Harris and Moseley should provide an incentive for fans to check it out anyway. Those who are steeped in Englund’s filmography may be enticed by the chance to see Englund reunite with Phantom director Little, who also worked with Englund on the TV series Freddy’s Nightmares. Natty Knocks releases on July 21, 2023.

Source: Bloody Disgusting