Netflix’s Death Note is an amalgamation of subgenres, incorporating popular tropes from fantasy, horror and comedy movies.
A new fan-made trailer for Death Note, however, reimagines the film as a teen comedy, using those same tropes to add a comedic spin on the movie’s original concept. The sad, lonely teenager who is in love with the pretty, petty popular cheerleader takes center stage. Their unfathomable romance built on the fall of the high school status quo is the underdog being rooted for. The blandness of day-to-day high school life becomes a battle ground for a pair of misfits who, against our better judgment, are easy to like.
The icing on the cake comes in the form of My Chemical Romance’s emo teenage anthem “I’m Not Okay.” The aesthetic of the song — and its memorable video — captures the angst-ridden mood of Death Note. Reimagined as a teen comedy, Death Note’s most ridiculous elements don’t feel out of place. They become the fantastical equivalent of a lucid dream from someone like Jared Leto or Darren Aronofsky.
The reaction to Death Note, which was directed by Adam Wingard, has been divided. We called it “a lazy, unambitious, forgettable movie that lacks any imagination, heart or entertaining values” in our review.
In a perfect world, we’d get the teen comedy version of Death Note, but alas.
Death Note is currently streaming on Netflix.
