Netflix has released the new, full-lengthDeath Notetrailer for the highly anticipated adaptation. Based on the Japanese manga of the same name, the film follows a high school student (Nat Wolff) who comes across a supernatural notebook that has the power to kill those whose names are inscribed upon it. The film is directed byAdam Wingard(You’re Next) with a script byCharley &Vlas Parlapanides(Immortals) andJeremy Slater(TV’sThe Exorcist).
Wingard has been vocal about the fact that this is a new interpretation of the manga and not a straight adaptation (he offers a comparison toThe Departedas an adaptation ofInfernal Affairs), and indeed that’s what we see here with the Seattle setting and largely American cast of characters. Wingard showed withThe Guestthat he could ably tackle a thriller that’s not just straight horror, andDeath Noteappears to expand his horizons even further, combining those two genres on a larger, more terrifying scale. There’s an added level of anticipation here as Wingard was recently tapped to take the helm of Warner Bros. and Legendary’s big-budgetGodzilla vs. Kongmovie.
This trailer is appropriately terrifying, especially as it relates toWillem Dafoe’s mysterious performance, and I’m really curious to check the whole thing out myself.
Watch the newDeath Notetrailer below, followed by a behind-the-scenes featurette. The film also starsMargaret QualleyandLakeith Stanfieldand hits Netflix on August 25th.
Here’s the official synopsis forDeath Note:
Based on the famous Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata,Death Notefollows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone’s name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life.
