How ‘JU-ON: Origins’ Scares Us. Without Kayako.
“Ju-on was inspired by true events. All of these events originated from one house. However, the real events were far more frightening than the movies.”
Is how the first episode of JU-ON: Origins begins.
And boy, they were right.
JU-ON: Origins premiered on Netflix in July 2020. It was directed by Shô Miyake, and it follows a long line of horror films known collectively as the Ju-on franchise, or as we call it here in the West, The Grudge franchise. The Netflix Japan Original consists of six episodes centered around a group of people whose lives take horrific turns after coming in contact, directly or indirectly, with a haunted house. Yasuo (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa), a paranormal writer, and Haruka (Yuina Kuroshima), a popular actress, both of whom have their own ties to the house in question, team up to try and solve the mystery. While there have been several incarnations of Ju-on, this is the first version that focuses on the events that “inspired” the movies. Consequently, it completely drops the two ghosts who have arguably been the reason why the franchise lasted for so long: the terrifying onryō (in Japanese literature, a “vengeful spirit”) named Kayako and her son Toshio.
Take any horror movie you’ve ever seen and imagine it without the monster, ghost, or killer. Imagine Audition without Asami or Ringu without Sadako. Try thinking of Friday the 13th with no Jason, Nightmare on Elm Street with no Freddy, and Carrie with no.. well, Carrie. Imagine The Shining without Jack Torrance. Is it still The Shining without Jack Nicholson’s iconic “Here’s Johnny”? (Bet you read that in his voice.) These iconic characters are the biggest reason we get scared while watching their movies. They are the heart of the experience. Our childhood nightmares are tied to them, not necessarily the storylines or the score. So how can Origins promise an authentic Grudge experience without the presence of our beloved onryō who made us too scared to look at a flight of stairs?
Before we answer that question, we need to clarify two things: Is JU-ON: Origins a prequel to Ju-on? And which Ju-on are we even talking about?
A Brief History of the Ju-on Franchise
It’s the year 1998. Takashi Shimizu releases two short films titled Katasumi and 4444444444. The former is about a schoolgirl who encounters a frightening female ghost after her friend disappears, while the latter is about a young man who meets the spirit of a little boy after receiving a creepy phone call from a mysterious number. Two years later, these two shorts inspire a direct-to-video supernatural horror movie called Ju-on: The Curse. Also directed by Shimizu, the film consists of six segments centered around different characters who meet the ghosts of a woman called Kayako and her son named Toshio after visiting a haunted house. Together with its sequel, the film gains so much popularity in Japan that Shimizu receives an offer to take it to the big screen. It is now 2002, Ju-on: The Grudge hits theaters and impresses the world, so much so that it catches the attention of American entertainment company Sony Pictures, who recruit Shimizu to direct an American remake. Since then, ten other Ju-on-related movies were released, the most recent of which came out in January 2020. Den of Geek has a complete breakdown of all of them.
Bringing Kayako and Toshio’s story to the big screen meant a bigger budget to play with. While the story of Ju-on: The Grudge is the same as its predecessor, there is a considerable difference in quality. More professional equipment, upgraded special effects, and improved sound design turned a creepy direct-to-video movie into a genuinely frightening, highly-profitable feature film. It is this version that Netflix’s Ju-on ties itself to.
Is ‘JU-ON: Origins’ a Prequel?
I’ve seen a couple of articles describing the series as a prequel; however, the opening narration of the first episode contradicts this. A prequel tells the story that happened before the main one. But the narration explains that the series is about the “real” events that lead to the fictional story of the Saeki family. JU-ON: Origins is presented as reality while Ju-on: The Grudge is supposed to be fiction. This means that the Netflix original isn’t exactly a prequel but a dramatization of the “true” events that ultimately inspired the iconic movie.
The numerous news segments that the characters watch or listen to support this. One segment talks about the Chernobyl disaster, while a few others reference real-life crimes that happened in Japan during the 1980s. Their purpose is not only to set the time and location of the story but also to hammer in the idea that Origins is the real deal. These jarring elements of realism also make for a chilling viewing experience; since no film is scarier than reality.
Echoes of Kayako in ‘JU-ON: Origins’
It’s difficult to imagine Ju-on without the presence of Kayako Saeki. This is largely thanks to the sheer talent of Takako Fuji, the actress who played her in most of the films. Toshio was creepy himself, but Kayako was the one who lead the game, and Fuji was a huge reason why. Even when the plot fell flat, and the characters seemed too stupid to sympathize with, the sinister onryō managed to keep us on the edge of our seats. It’s hard to forget her haunting death rattle, wide eyes, and the unnatural way she crawled down the stairs to kill her target. So how can Netflix’s series guarantee a few scares without the presence of our favorite nightmare-inducing ghost lady?
Remember how you felt the heebie-jeebies when you had to go up the stairs? Or how you freaked out when your long-haired friend passed by? The series definitely suspects you do, so it uses images and sounds to trigger your memories of “the girl from The Grudge.” The all-black, silent ghost figure from episode 5 looks exactly like Kayako when she hovered above the old lady in Ju-on: The Grudge. During a particular jumpscare, the ghost’s reflection shows up in the mirror, reminding us of Kayako’s in the climax of the movie. Kiyomi’s entire storyline is eerily similar to Kayako’s. The scene where she is dressed in an oversized white t-shirt and slowly approaches Katsuji with her hands out as if she is holding a baby, her image entirely reminds us of her. The sounds that Chie makes, moments after being brutally attacked by her husband, are just like the death rattle that remained imprinted in our minds ever since we first saw the movie.
These audiovisual queues are genius for another reason: they allow the series to stay in a familiar realm while adding something new. We’ve discussed the importance of this kind of balance when looking at Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. They smoothly place the series in the franchise while also giving it its own spice. At the same time, they can also dub as an homage to the OG film. Basically, we have one group of queues serving three different purposes simultaneously: they remind the viewers of the movie’s main ghost, provide background information about the fictional story, and act as tributes to the movie.
The Series Overall
As someone who spent a good portion of her childhood scared that Kayako might jump out any minute, I went into this series a bit more skeptical than usual. Netflix’s Origins isn’t exactly perfect. Some jump scares are too predictable for their own good, and some scenes are excessively brutal. I often found myself questioning whether some blatantly cruel events were that necessary to show. However, the characters have a good dynamic, and the protagonists were fleshed out decently. Considering there were only six episodes, I think each segment was given the attention and detail it deserved.
The series deserves credit for having an engaging story that was written without the involvement of Takashi Shimizu as well as successful scares even though the ghost of Kayako was nowhere to be found. With the help of creepy audiovisual queues, interesting arcs, and a suspenseful atmosphere, the showrunners managed to add something new to the lore while also honoring the franchise. JU-ON: Origins is a solid addition to the franchise.
