SPOILERS for Ju-On: Origins ahead

Ju-On: Origins on Netflix is a frightening new offering in The Grudge canon with one major change—gone are the jump scares that made the series so popular. In their place, director Sho Miyaki uses various storytelling and filming techniques that are, arguably, more effective and far more terrifying.

Ju-On: Origins begins by separating itself from the movies by suggesting that the stories in the Netflix series are the "true" ones that inspired the movies. In this way, what happens in the prequel is said to be source material for the filmmakers of the original Ju-On movie as well as the American versions of The Grudge. With that in mind, Ju-On: Origins continues to honor the general style of The Grudge series, telling several different stories at different points in time that are all loosely connected by the curse and the ghosts attached to it. Nevertheless, despite the similarities in storytelling, the horror techniques used are quite different.

Related: Why Ju-On: Origins Doesn't Connect To The Grudge Movies

For American audiences, the terrifying jump scares are what made The Grudge and its sequels so popular. Even the 2020 reboot version of The Grudge relies on jump scares for its fear factor. For this reason, not using this technique for Ju-On: Origins is a bold move that could have made for a series that falls flat and fails to scare. However, while audiences may not jump at the Netflix series, the slow-burn horror that unfolds, interspersed with moments of extreme violence and gore, turns out to be far more effective at leaving a lasting impact on viewers.

Why Ju-On: Origins Didn't Need Jump Scares

Ju-On Origins Haruka Scared

In many ways, Ju-On: Origins breathes new life into The Grudge franchise. By employing a different kind of horror, the series becomes intriguing again. This may be part of the reason Nicolas Pesce's 2020 reboot of The Grudge has not been so well received. Although it does offer new storylines that further expand The Grudge canon by showing the curse's impact as it is taken to the United States, it still mostly rehashes old techniques and ideas. Ju-On: Origins, on the other hand, is a completely new experience.

Ju-On: Origins focuses on its characters, fleshing them out, as well as showing how the curse affects them in different ways. One story in particular is about an abused high school girl who is tricked into going to the house. The events that unfold as the curse follows her over the next several years are truly heart-breaking and gruesome. In Ju-On: Origins, the curse seems to have some sort of sinister intelligence that chooses the most harrowing moments to kill its victims, sometimes waiting years, rather than dooming them to death over a matter of days like in The Grudge and its sequels. One character is even spared so that he can grow up to write about the grudge and the house it is attached to, dooming future victims in the process.

Interestingly, even the creepy, death-rattle sound from The Grudge movies is absent from Ju-On: Origins. In its place is a more sinister horror that is difficult to explain. It's uncanny, and the answers are not always apparent. Ju-On: Origins manages to build dread as it goes on, creating a more elevated horror experience that doesn't need jump scares. Ju-On: Origins is a new vision for The Grudge franchise.

Next: Ju-On: Origins Full Show Timeline Explained