JU-ON: Origins

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Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 3, 2020
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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Critic Reviews

  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Alex McLevy
    Jul 6, 2020
    50
    Like its spotty progenitors, Ju-On: Origins tries to stretch thin material over a large canvas without doing much to sustain interest beyond injecting the occasional fright. (To its credit, there are almost no cheap jump scares here.)
  2. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Benjamin Lee
    Jul 1, 2020
    40
    It’s an odd, not completely unengaging show that tries hard to steer the franchise out of a rut by refusing to regurgitate much of the imagery we’ve come to associate with it but in its place, there’s something of an empty space instead. The effectively staged gore will leave its mark but little else will, a brief burst of nastiness that probably should serve as the last gasp of an overextended brand.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 2 out of 8
  1. TheQuietGamer
    Jul 6, 2021
    4
    My first and most likely last experience with the Ju-On franchise unless curiosity or recommendations get the better of me. This is horror atMy first and most likely last experience with the Ju-On franchise unless curiosity or recommendations get the better of me. This is horror at its most dark and depressing, and without good reason. I witnessed acts of rape and abuse only to be left wondering why. What was the point of all that? What was the message supposed to be? Upon reflection I don't believe any of it occurred for meaningful reasons.

    It's not that I can't handle harsh content like this. I'm no stranger to exploitation flicks. I just believe that kind of material should serve a purpose other than that of strictly shock value. Take the I Spit on Your Grave series for example. At least when the protagonists get raped there it acts as fuel for the torture porn style revenge violence that follows, however abhorrent a catalyst that may be.

    Things don't even really get supernatural until about 3½ episodes into this six episode miniseries. Which left me perplexed as to the inclusion of the haunted house that all of this is supposed to be centered around in the first place. It is implied that the spirit's influence is what's causing these people to do such horrible things to each other, but it's a flimsy justification and one that doesn't make sense when you consider how most of these acts of savagery appear to have been premeditated long before they ever entered the deceased's former residence.

    Origins is just a pointless display of human cruelty taking place under the guise of a ghost story. Its scattered array of barely connected plot threads go only to the most heartbreaking of places (if they go anywhere at all) with nothing learned along the way and it's vengeful spirit coming off as an afterthought. If this is what the rest of the Ju-On and Americanized Grudge stories are like, quite frankly you can count me out.    … Full Review »
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