My 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.