Shudder has been acquiring the rights to tons of movies, especially foreign films, over the last few years. One such film is The Sadness (2021), which is a Taiwanese Zombie film. The Sadness was screened at festivals in 2021, but had an official release in 2022. You might be asking what makes this film stand out amongst a litany of other zombie films this century. The answer is that this film has got to be one of goriest semi-mainstream films that I’ve ever seen, as well as its social commentary on the actual pandemic that the world experienced in 2020.
The story is set during a relatively mild pandemic, which polarizes and desensitizes the local population and allows the virus to mutate into a dangerous form once everybody lets their guard down. The result is a dangerous mutation that turns its victims into rabid-like maniacs that are bent on murder, torture, rape, etc. The story revolves around a couple that strives to reunite amid the chaos in Taiwan.
Without giving any spoilers, I enjoyed the movie for what it was. It was marketed as one of the goriest zombie movies ever made, and that’s exactly what we were given. The sheer brutality of the murder and rape scenes, as well as the over the top blood spattering when victims were cut in to, was meant to draw attention to the film. If you’re a fan of Lucio Fulci’s films with gory eye penetration, then this might be right up your alley (perhaps it’s an homage?). The film doesn’t have quite the engaging pace or storyline of Train to Busan, but if you’ve got a strong stomach, this one is worth a watch. Check out the trailer below.
