Ju-on: Origins

It's been a while since there's been a good "Ju-On" anything, so this chilling miniseries is a very welcome addition to the franchise. It surpasses most of the previous films in terms of atmosphere and genuine scares, becoming visceral and genuinely disturbing. It is also the most visually striking of the whole series, employing some fantastic surreal imagery.

The most important thing of all is that the story remains interesting, it doesn't just recycle earlier plotlines, instead creating it's own new storyline that answers as many questions as it asks. The non-linear structure adds more depth to the anthology formula used throughout the franchise, which is given time to breathe here as a miniseries than as an 80-minute film.

I was actually looking forward to this show being a fan of horror movies and the franchise, but found myself loosing interest pretty quickly. I was trying to keep up with all the timelines, but the jumping back and forth with flashback and years in each episode got a bit confusing. I didn't find it that scary either and would say it's more of a crime show with some horror in it.

If you would like to watch it I recommend you really pay attention when watching this show.

This series was a solid, albeit unnecessary revamp of the Grudge origin story. It's nothing we haven't seen before in terms of story, but its execution feels more authentic here, and gruesome enough to easily warrant its TV-MA rating. I'm glad they decided to keep this origin series within its original Japanese roots instead of Americanizing it once again, as we've all seen how those have turned out... Overall a solid series, though it would've probably worked better as a 2 hour Japanese film instead.

This is a different take on the Ju-on story. In the original the curse follows people around, in this one; the curse is a time-loop. What happened in the past is affecting what happens in the future, and what happens in the now; affects what happens in the past. In that sense the curse is forever ongoing.

Many have commented that this show is confusing. And it is. Especially if you are familiar with the original story and are trying to get the pieces to fit. It's very very important that you know that this is not a sequel to the original movies. But a stand-alone and new take on the Ju-on.

I don't really consider this as a terror tv series, it works as a way to explain more about the origin of Ju-On, obviously as the title says but somehow I don't really see an actual strong connection between the house and the characters (at least until ep 4, trust me, that episode is insane), many things happens along different storylines and I have to mention they're actually pretty interesting.

So, in conclusion, if you know how to separate the Ju-On series (along with what you'll expect this series to be) and if you're searching for an interesting, kind of deep and "raw" show...undoubtedly this show will be enjoyable for you.

Give it a chance if you can, each episode is about 20 minutes...