The Sadness
Directed by Rob Jabbaz
When a virus spontaneously mutates, it gives rise to a mind-altering plague. The streets erupt into violence and depravity, as those infected are driven to enact the most cruel and ghastly things they can think of. Murder, torture, rape and mutilation are only the beginning. A young couple is pushed to the limits of sanity as they try to reunite amid the chaos. The age of civility and order is no more. There is only "The Sadness". Note: The Sadness contains graphic and extreme violence/gore, as well as brief strobe effects in the end credits.
In this extreme horror, a young couple try to reunite amid a city ravaged by a plague that turns its victims into deranged, bloodthirsty sadists.
Cast: Regina Lei, Berant Zhu, Tzu-Chiang Wang, Apple Chen, Wei-Hua Lan
Member Reviews
One such case where the movie itself isn’t necessarily bad, but I just happened to, not to mince words, hate it. That’s what The Sadness is for me. I can take dark, dour, depressing, and other Ds if they exist, Hell that kind of thing draws me in, such as movies like I Saw The Devil or Martyrs; gut-wrenching as they may be they leave on earned notes and have through-lines. It may be the primal part of the brain for me to think that way, maybe. But the lack of a real through-line to get me through that, and nothing to really enjoy on the basest level like The Evil Dead or campy slashers from the decadence days, given the shock factor and the framing of violence? Not so much. The Sadness is well made, but it was also miserable. Knowing it’s an indirect adaptation of Crossed by… oh, Garth Ennis, well look at that. Yeah I can see why I didn’t click with this. His run of The Punisher, especially the Barracuda and Born arcs, were great, but saying he has a pessimistic worldview would be an understatement. The Boys, the show not the book, is really good, but from the strips I’ve seen of the book, it looks repugnant. Maybe I’ll read Crossed, but after watching The Sadness I’m not clamoring to. New perspectives and all that though. (Edit: Okay so it turns out neither of them have correlation and they just happen to share the premise. Guess that tangent about Garth Ennis was for naught. Still true though!)
Unlike anything I have ever seen, a truly brutal movie I actually enjoyed.
This was so messed up.
I don't review movies often. BUT...This was like Ichi the Killer mixed with 28 days later, hostel, and a tinge of A Serbian Film(shock value for a few scenes). It's grotesque and unsettling, but I wasn't gripping the edge of my seat despite everything going on. Definitely unique and I would watch it again.
Just another review here letting you know that this movie lives up to the hype - deeply disturbing and potentially traumatizing to the unfamiliar and uninitiated and still a pretty damn wild & bumpy ride for the "expert" horror film lovers/watchers. If you seldom watch horror movies, I do NOT recommend this film.