Horror champions Hiroshi Takahashi and Takashige Ichise have created yet another Ju-On instalment. Normally I wouldn’t raise an eyebrow over something like this and I’ve almost lost track of the number of Ju-On movies at this point. However, Ju-On: Origins is nothing like those generic bummers we saw during the 2010’s. This is a web television series, released by Netflix, and aims to explain the origin of this cursed house in the Tokyo suburbs. Allegedly, Kayako and Toshio may not be the ones that started all the horror. Consequently, they will not appear in this; not even once. ☹juonorigins04juonorigins29The concept of unchronological chapters has been scrapped also, and we get to follow a clear timeline stretching from 1988 to 1997, besides some spacey flashbacks in the last two episodes. We are introduced to a handful of characters, who are all connected to the dodgy house located in the Tokyo suburbs. Let’s introduce them.

Yasuo
YosiYosi Arakawa stars as paranormal researcher Yasuo. He appears on a late-night show where an actress expresses her worry about some strange noises that she hears in her apartment.
Haruka
This actress is called Haruka (Yuina Kuroshima) and has a central role in this story along with Yasuo.
Tetsuya
Haruka’s husband Tetsuya (Kai Inowaki) later admits that it is not Haruka’s apartment that is the problem. Earlier, he went on a viewing of a house that he instantly could tell was haunted through his ESP powers. Now, the couple is haunted by whatever Tetsuya brought back with him from that house.
Mother-in-law
Nobuko Sendo plays Tetsuya’s mother, who also possesses psychic abilities. This will come in handy when dealing with this brutal curse.
Kiyomi
We are also introduced to troubled high school student Kiyomi (Ririka). This is where it gets really dark, in a way that’s not been seen in the previous adaptations. Two classmates lure her into the haunted house along with a guy named Yudai (Koki Osamura). Under knife threat, Yudai rapes Kiyomi while the other two girls watch and take pictures of it.
Ariyasu
Kana Kurashina stars as social worker Ariyasu, who gets dragged into the mess when trying to help a little boy, who is no other than the son of Kiyomi and her rapist Yudai!

This series is massively different to Takashi Shimizu’s original films. I’m a huge fan of Shimizu’s work and I don’t mean it in a malicious way when I say that his films are more horror-focused with not much character-depth. You could say that Ju-On: Origins does the exact opposite. The horror is discrete and consists mainly of the cameos of a ghost woman carrying a baby. Don’t expect any jump-scares.

This is much more character-driven compared to Shimizu’s movies. There are some intense storylines that involve cheating, domestic violence, murders and shocking gore. They have also included some real-life events that occurred during this period, such as the tragic case of Junko Furata and the Tokyo Sarin attack.

How does this mini-series hold up, conclusively? Short answer: It’s good. Considering it’s released by Netflix; it does have a noticeably higher production-value than those previous Ju-On spin-offs. Things to be aware of is the slow pace, very few frights and an abrupt ending. I expect and deeply hope that there are more seasons to come. I can only imagine the appearance of the Saeki family!

Sadako_4
4 Sadako-wells out of 5