The Sadness is the most violent horror film you'll see this year. It's probably the most violent horror film you'll watch this decade...nah, you know what, scratch that, it' might be the most violent horror film you'll ever see. Well unless you frequent the darker sides of the internet but that's a strange place for stranger people so let's just say The Sadness will freak you out.
There's something viral the air in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan and it's making people freak out. Not in an exasperated "FUCK IT ANYWAY!" kind of way but more dunk a person's head in boiling oil and then rip the melting flesh off their face kind of way. Jim (Berant Zhu) sees this happen up close and personal in his local cafe and his day is only going to get worse from there. Wholesale butchery is turning his city into a bloodstained warzone and no one knows why and all Jim can do is think about Kat (Regina Lei), his other half using the city subway to get to work. What she sees happen on a train carriage is enough to turn anyone catatonic for life but Kat is a hardy lady and now their mission is to fight their way across urban hell to reunite before the sadness catches up to them.
Jesus christ. JESUS CHRIST. That's all you'll be saying for the first hour of this topical gorefest. It's a vicious, insane assault on the senses that barely gives you time to catch your breath in between it's bouts of hideous bloodletting. It starts off fun in an "oh fuck" kind of way but eventually it's violence just becomes numbing and repetitive and by the gouged out eye socket rape scene (yeah you sadly read that right) you just want it to be over and done with and when the end does come it feels like Canadian writer/director Rob Jabbaz just flat out ran out of ideas letting it finish on a whimper instead of a roar. It's disappointing because that first and second act is just nonstop. We get to know and like Jim and Kat for a wee while until the plot separates them and then it's just chaos, lovingly designed gore setpieces hitting one after the other in a manner that will either have you running for the door or laughing your arse off.
An early gorefree moment sets the agenda though. Kat, reading in a train carriage, alone but surrounded by other commuters. An older man sits next to her and attempts conversation. It's innocent at first but imperceptibly turns sinister and then sickening. Jabbaz's message is clear, humanity can't help itself, even without that disease ripping the city apart above ground we're prey to our baser instincts and when the sadness does hit it just lets loose what we really want to do. In sanguis veritas if you will. It might be a cynical worldview but it's not far off the mark and it's compounded later on by the actions of a security guard that will have you hissing at the screen. But in films like this everyone gets what's coming to them and if it's blood and guts you want, you'll get all you'll ever need here.
With it's clearly, carefully shot and well choreographed action it's obvious Jabbaz has talent. His horror chops are strong too with some big nods to the likes of Irreversible and A Serbian Movie and Garth's Ennis's long running comic series Crossed. Like that comic The Sadness does at times go beyond the pale into a place that's flat out offensive and it's those couple of moments alongside a weak ending that may well stop this from becoming a horror favourite in years to come.
The Sadness will be streaming on Shudder soon.
