Ju-On: The Origins

Okay, allow me to say Ju-On is one of the earliest horror movie I've watched. It was the year 2002, the movie was just theatrically released. It was the year 2002, the internet wasn't a thing. I saw its rather dark, black gory face as a movie poster being advertised on Star2, back in the era where movie showtimes were printed in the newspaper spanning across one page. I still remember it was the time the GSC Mid Valley was the 'hot' theatre, while the tiny ones closest to me was The Summit Bukit Mertajam (now closed).

Anyway, a few years later, probably around 2003 or 2004 when I was still in primary school, the movie was aired on ntv7 in conjunction with the seventh month Hungry Ghost Festivals. It was a 10.10pm slot (10pm - 10.10pm was the news slot), and the movie began with a couple driving along a deserted road when they appeared to have hit something. The driver stopped, came down to see nothing. The passenger wanted to know what happened, peeked at the mirror, and saw a cat lying motionless but suddenly a pair of children's legs emerged to retrieve the seemingly dead cat. She was frightened. Then, couldn't find what they've hit, and couldn't be sure she was hallucinating, they proceeded to drive, only to find Toshio suddenly appeared behind the steering wheel. In shock, the driver panicked and met an accident.

I was freaked out. I didn't think I continue watching.

A few years later, The Grudge, the remake by the USA, hit the theatre. I remembered it hit the box office in the USA and broke the summer record as the best-performed horror movie (in 2004). I knew Sarah Michelle Gellar from other movie so I bought a DVD (yes, DVD was a thing in 2004) and watched the movie. I remember I was fascinated. I absolutely love The Grudge, and had since rewatched it multiple times. I mean, the storyline was good. It was scary. And it felt authentic. I actually knew what was happening.

I then went to search online in attempt to find the original series. Back then, the internet was very fresh. The only source of videos was Youtube. Seriously, Youtube in 2004 had lots of movies that, in 2021, clearly violated copyright laws of the producers. Anyway, I found Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Grudge. All of them. So I watched all of them. While it is true the Japanese version was much more terrifying, they were also very much more confusing as the story was told in a non-linear manner. In my opinion, Japanese movies tend to focus on the scare, not so much about the story. 

Fast forward almost two decades later, Ju-On: Origins, released on Netflix, share the same theme. It focuses on the scare, not so much the story.

The curious thing about this six-episode series is that it doesn't feature either Toshio, Kayako or the annoying cat. It seems to tell a story that doesn't relate to them. 

Then, after finishing the story, the main question is still left unanswered: what began the curse? At least in the original movies, we knew how the curse began. Yet, this show that is named Origin, doesn't explain how the curse originated. Rather, it told multiple stories in a non-linear manner interacting in confusing shots that didn't seem to lead to an answer.

Maybe I'm too dumb to follow the storylines. It's possible. I'm not used to Japanese story-telling.

I won't say I'm disappointed though. The show was fine. The scare wasn't as strong as the original movies, but the story was okay. It just felt disappointed that there wasn't an answer.

I would recommend it, but only if you've watched the original movies. Because then you can compare. If you haven't, then, well, be warned that the series doesn't seem to relate to the movies, and have totally different characters although both feature a fixation with a cursed house.