GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

The Hole
Outcast
Outcast
(Second Opinion)
Choose
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Mirrors 2
Puppet Master - Axis of Evil
Deadly Crossing
Death Race 2
The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism
(Second Opinion)
The Expendables
The Chatroom
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Splice
Peeping Tom - Re-issue
A Town Called Panic
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
Night of the Demons
Lawnmower Man (Blu-ray)
Siege of the Dead
Psych 9
Big Tits Zombie
Exquisite Corpse
The Collector
The Collector
(Second Opinion)
The Tortured
Zombies of Mass Destruction
Tears For Sale
Higanjima: Escape From
Vampire Island
I Spit On YOur Grave (1978)
Twelve (XII)
Dead Cert
[REC] 2
Mother
Killer Pad
Rin – Daughters of Mnemosyne
Death Tube
Death Tube
(Second Opinion)
7 Days
Death Note
Beyond The Rave
Hunter Prey
7th Dimension
Army of the Dead
Splintered
Basement
Meat Grinder
14 Blades
Manson Girl
The Blackout
The Torment
The Torment
(Second Opinion)
Hierro
Psycho - Blu-Ray
Pet Shop of Horrors
Kaiji:
The Ultimate Gambler
Shelter
Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood Part 1
The Final
Bubba Ho Tep - Blu-Ray
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Vampire
The Dead
Resurrecting
The Street Walker
The Haunting Of
Molly Hartley
Soul Eater: Part One
Rozen Maiden:
Traumend Vol. One
Bikini Girls On Ice
Diary of a Bad Lad
Satan's Baby Doll
Feast 111
Phobia
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin
Valhalla Rising
City of the Living Dead
Dorothy
Daybreakers
Daybreakers
(Second Opinion)
Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
Harpoon:The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
(Second Opinion)
Feast 3:The Happy Finnish
Raging Phoenix
His Name Was Jason
Left Bank
Ju-On: White Ghost/White Ghost
Spiral
Ghost Machine
Stag Night
Bitch Slap
The Descent 2
The Descent 2-Second opinion
Dance of The Dead
Henry Lee Lucas: Serial Killer
House Of The Devil
The Twilight Saga
New Moon
Salvage
Salvage-Second opinion
Dread
The Haunted World of
El Superbeasto
Saw VI
The Horseman
Triangle-Second opinion
Triangle
Cabin Fever 2-Third opinion
Cabin Fever 2-Second opinion
Cabin Fever 2
Stan Helsing
Pandorum
Pandorum-Second opinion
Open Graves
Paranormal Activity
Growth
Growth-Second opinion
Train
Antichrist
Wrong Turn 3
Coffin Rock
Orphan
Sorority Row
Drag Me to Hell
Staunton Hill
Summer Moon
Driftwood
Messengers 2

 

Directed by Shusuke Kaneko, Thriller, Cert. 15

4Digital Media – Released 20 September 2010 – Blu-Ray £29.99

On a mischievous whim, the sardonic, apple-loving Shinigami – that is, death god – Ryuk lets fall to earth the titular Death Note, which grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose face they have seen simply by writing down their name.

This magical notebook is discovered by law student Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who decides to make the world a better place by a wholesale liquidation of the criminal element. Baffled by the rash of seemingly impossible murders – which the public ascribe to a vigilante figure nicknamed ‘Kira’ – the Tokyo cops call in the mysterious L (Ken’ichi Matsuyama), a genius detective with an appetite for sweets.

The stage is set for a deadly battle of wits between Light and L, and it isn’t long before the former is using the Death Note to slaughter the innocent and guilty alike to avoid detection… a power that he begins to enjoy a little too much. The situation is further complicated when a Kira fangirl, gothy TV idol Misa Amane (Erika Toda), manages to acquire another Death Note and begins her own killing spree.

Well, that’s the gist of it, but as anyone familiar with original manga or anime will know, Death Note revels in its plot twists, as Light and L layer ploy upon ploy as they play their game of cat and mouse. However, director Shusuke Kaneko (Azumi 2) slims the story down to fit the format, and fans hoping for a completely faithful live action adaptation should brace themselves – we’re soon deep in alternate continuity territory.

But while some will mourn the absence of certain story arcs and side characters, it does mean that Death Note is eminently accessible for newcomers. It also helps that Kaneko clearly approached the story with both films in mind, with Death Note 2: The Last Name seamlessly continuing the story where the first movie leaves off.

Don’t expect a standard horror film, though; despite the vast body count there’s barely a smear of blood and the shinigami are more cartoony than scary. In fact, there’s a rather caricatured air about the movie’s main protagonists in general; for all their departures from the source material, Death Note 1 & 2 feel like live-action anime.

This, I’d say, is a Good Thing; a fairy tale vibe that helps ease the viewer into Death Note’s world of supernatural sleuthing, quirky leaps of logic and extravagant gambits. This isn’t the realism of The Wire, it’s the over-the-top drama of Holmes and Moriarty in a mental duel to the death; the eccentric L versus sociopathic genius Light.

Each Death Note movie is well worth seeing on its own merits, but the fact that both are bundled together in a Blu-ray boxset along with two discs crammed with special features – making ofs; production diaries; original trailers; press conferences; premier footage and so forth – makes 4Digital’s release a particularly tempting offer.

David Axbey.

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