Undoubtedly one of the goriest horror films to debut in some time, The Sadness is both shocking and disturbing. However, after a while, it starts to become evident that this is all the movie really has to offer. Emulating a deranged Syfy channel original film, The Sadness starts off as a strong midnight movie; but, its unfocused plot gets old after a while. The movie is maybe the bloodiest film since Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, but The Sadness feels soulless when all the audience is given is brutal murder sequences and a confusing narrative. However, gorehounds won't be disappointed if all they are looking for is a no-holds-barred gorefest.
Written and directed by Rob Jabbaz, The Sadness is a Taiwanese horror film centered on a widely spreading pandemic that turns its victims into violent psychopaths. If inflicted with the virus, people perform the most violent and heinous acts imaginable. Amidst it all, a young couple must fight to stay alive long enough without becoming infected to reunite.
The Sadness is incredibly effective in its first 30 minutes. It begins as a slow burn, following both members of the couple as they separately experience the atrocities around them. However, the simplicity of the plot soon becomes apparent and the film just becomes a never-ending bloodbath that doesn't pay much attention to characters or narrative. Although the special effects are top-notch and memorable, the film starts to become predictable. The viewer will become numb to the overflowing amount of gore on-screen. Since the movie's intensity erupts at a ten fairly early on, there's nowhere left for it to go in its second half.
The characters are severely underdeveloped and only exist either to die an extremely violent death or serve as paper-thin protagonists. The movie plays out like a survival horror video game, where nothing really matters except the action and the gameplay. The Sadness doesn't care about narrative nearly as much as bringing on the bloodshed, and many narrative choices feel jumbled and don't flow together. Characters keep coming and going, and the audience is expected to care about a character who doesn't appear until the last 30 minutes. The central idea of The Sadness could have been extremely topical if it was executed differently, but its obsession with shock value causes the film to lose any narrative weight it had.
The Sadness is a typical zombie invasion film that swaps out mindless undead ghouls for psychotic killers. This change should enable a unique experience, but while the violence is heightened due to the infected having intelligence, everything else feels generic. It also feels very mean-spirited as its murder set-pieces are more depraved than clever. The violence is rarely fun, just disturbing and shocking until it becomes too frequent to shock anymore. This film doesn't give its audience time to ponder larger ideas, and it's clear the main reason for this movie's existence is to showcase eye-popping gore and visual effects.
With that said, The Sadness' death scenes are well-executed and there are some memorable sequences that will have even the most hardened horror buff covering their eyes. If brutal gore is all a viewer craves, this horror movie is a must-see. If you seek a well-rounded horror film with heavy themes, The Sadness is not it. For a group of drunken friends looking for a mindless gorefest equipped with great effects, it might be the perfect film.
The Sadness made its North American premiere at Fantasia's 25th International Film Festival.
0 Comments