“Death Note” is the newest Netflix original movie to come to our TV, phone, or computer screens, and it doesn’t fail to impress. The music choice was varied, ranging from unobtrusive to mildly cheesy, but overall, it sells the tone of the movie with its mixture of high school angst while the creepy, mysterious undertones pinpoints main character, Light’s, descent into darkness with the Shadow Demon Ryuk. It pays tribute to its anime origins throughout the movie, and has a stellar “American Horror Story” reference with a sticker stating: “Normal People Scare Me” inside of Light’s locker which kind of draws its own parallel to the very first season of the TV show “American Horror Story.”
The ending leaves you wanting more, and gives an audience member unfamiliar to “Death Note” a cliffhanger. As an introduction, it certainly lays down the basic principal of what “Death Note” is, and the cliffhanger leaves us with many questions. It’s a great way of bringing in a new audience, and the actors do a stellar job. It stars Willem Defoe and Nat Wolff, who both make a great performance throughout the movie. Listening to Defoe brought back many memories of his time as the Green Goblin from the original Spiderman movies in the early 2000s, and Nat Wolff has certainly progressed from his early Nickelodeon days. Let’s not forget stars Shae Whigham who played Light’s father, and Margaret Qualley, who played Mia, and Lakeith Stanfield, who played the mysterious Detective L to his quirky character’s perfection.
With an excellent cast playing layered characters, some believe that Netflix’s adaption of “Death Note” could be a gateway into the world of anime for those who have shown little interest beforehand. Could this be a gateway? Could it be something more? Or could it be vastly overrated? Think on it, and you might be surprised by what you find.