Netflix Turns The Grudge Into New Series Called Ju-On: Origins

Horror franchise The Grudge has had numerous sequels, but the story behind it has now been adapted into a Netflix series entitled Ju-On: Origins - watch the trailer below:

The Japanese-language tale, which will be on the streaming service from 3 July, looks like it's going to be just as scary as the 2004 movie (itself based on Ju-On: The Grudge, a Japanese movie from 2002), if not more, and focuses on the haunted house at the centre of the story.

Its official synopsis reads: "The J-Horror classic franchise was actually based on real events that occurred over four decades - and the truth is even more terrifying.

"Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?"

I'm going to go out on a whim and say that it's pretty unlikely they escape from the house's curse, TBH.

A long-awaited 'sidequel' to the original movie also came out at the start of this year in the US, which confusingly also goes by the title The Grudge.

Here's a synopsis for the 2020 version: "A single mother and young detective, Muldoon (Riseborough), discovers that a suburban house is cursed by a vengeful ghost that dooms those who enter it with a violent death. Now, she runs to save herself and her son from demonic spirits from the cursed house in her neighborhood."

The film is directed by Nicolas Pesce and produced by horror legend Sam Raimi, of Evil Dead fame.

Speaking about the new movie, which stars Dude, Where's My Car? actor John Cho and Andrea Riseborough, Pesce said fans will need to prepare themselves for an utter gore-fest even scarier than the original and that it's not a 'rehashing the same story'.

Pesce said: "As far as the imagery, it was finding that balance between (old visuals and new visuals). We're finding the key elements that are just how the grudge expresses itself.

"So much of this movie is about the fact that this can happen anywhere and that it happens everywhere. It can spread like wildfire. Having certain touchstones was important.

"Obviously with a franchise we don't want to throw everything out. There is certain stuff that is fun for the fans to see again in a new context with a new spin."

Speaking to Inverse, Pesce went one further and said his new take on the classic is 'way more f***ed up' than the original.

He said: "There's definitely a deeper human character narrative in the movie and just by the nature of being rated R, got to to be - am I allowed to curse? The movie's way more fucked up.

"Not that the wave of J-horror in the 2000s wasn't f***ed up. But this is really f***ed up."

So there you go, Grudge fans. A new TV series and a new movie. At least 2020 is good for something, eh?

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: TV and Film, Netflix

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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