The sequel to the hit live-action supernatural movie Death Note, based
on the 15-million-selling manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and
illustrated by Takeshi Obata, Death Note II: The Last Name is once again directed by renowned
monster filmmaker Shusuke Kaneko, and focuses on the conclusion of the
titanic struggle between two geniuses trying to win ultimate control of a book that brings death to those whose names are written in it.

After quickly re-establishing some of the parameters of the film’s universe, and rules for the use of the special notebook with the power to kill — the death must happen within 23 days; if no
specific cause of death is noted in the notebook, the victim will suffer a heart
attack; and users have six minutes and 40 seconds (?!) to pen details
after first naming their victim, among others — Death Note II picks up with Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara) joining an investigative team in pursuit of the serial killer known as Kira. While L (Kenichi Matsuyama) still strongly suspects that Light is in fact Kira, Light continues to seek out the real name of L so that he can kill him with his Death Note. Making things even more unpredictable are the “Eyes of Death” that the second Kira possesses, enabling the owner to know the true identity and lifespan of any person. Light soon learns the identity of the other Kira, and wants to join forces to get rid of L. Will L be able to catch “Kira” before he gets killed? Who will be the last name written in the Death Note?

The Death Note manga and TV series are sensations in their Japanese homeland; the 37-episode animated cable series is seen by
millions each week, and also
distributed on DVD Stateside by VIZ Media, the releaser of this film. Even without a connection to the hardwired cultural mores and customs that ground the spookier elements of this material, it’s easy to grasp its popularity. Death Note II uses some canted stylistic tricks, but not to an obnoxious or wearying degree. Overall, there’s a nice mix of special effects work and real, match-cut hallucinatory images; the film’s mood is nicely sustained. Somewhat interestingly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers again contribute the movie’s opening theme song, “Dani California,” as well as other tunes.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, Death Note II comes presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with superlative English language Dolby digital 5.1 and 2.0 sound mixes dubbed by the outstanding voice cast of the animated series. The original Japanese version of the movie is also included, obviously with English subtitles. The only problem here is that the subtitles don’t completely match the dubbed version of the movie; one assumes the latter is more accurate, but can’t be entirely certain. DVD bonus features consist of a special 21-minute making-of featurette (also set to tunes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers), in which cast and crew all sit for subtitled interviews. Also included are the original Japanese theatrical trailer for the film, as well as an English language version. For more information on both of the Death Note live action films, as well as other VIZ Pictures films, click here, or visit the film series’ namesake web site. For more information on the Death Note manga and animated series, meanwhile, click here. B+ (Movie) B- (Disc)