The Sadness

Name: The Sadness
Genre: Horror
Released: May 12, 2022
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 68
Cast: Berant Zhu, Chi-Min Chou, Emerson Tsai, Lue-Keng Huang, Ralf Chiu

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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6.5

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6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Shudder | Release Date (Streaming): May 12, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Berant Zhu, Chi-Min Chou, Emerson Tsai, Lue-Keng Huang, Ralf Chiu, Regina Lei, Tzu-Chiang Wang, Wei-Hua Lan, Ying-Ru Chen

Summary: A young couple trying to reunite amid a city ravaged by a plague that turns its victims into deranged, bloodthirsty sadists.

Director: Rob Jabbaz

Genre(s): Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

Thom Ernst

May 10, 2022

The Sadness is good. Not just genre-specific good, but cinema good. And even when it arrives at the inevitable ‘who are the real monsters’ scene, The Sadness still has bite. Read full review

Natalia Keogan

May 10, 2022

The Sadness is incredibly gorey and gleefully embraces just about every documented taboo—but instead of an exhausting edgelord sensibility, it accurately depicts just how little convincing a crumbling society needs to obliterate itself. Read full review

The Film Stage Jared Mobarak

May 10, 2022

The acts of violence writer-director Rob Jabbaz has his characters inflict upon each other are as depraved as can be and seemingly devoid of remorse. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams

May 12, 2022

The Taiwanese horror movie The Sadness is both conceptually exhausting and viscerally upsetting—an ideal summer movie for the third year of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Read full review

Martyn Conterio

May 10, 2022

For a debut feature, it’s impressive and thoroughly committed to its vision of Hell on Earth. The atrocities, bleak tension and stomach-churning imagery are unstoppable, the director deeming them necessary for maximum impact. Read full review

The Guardian Phuong Le

May 26, 2022

The recurring dependence on sexual violence as a shock tactic is, however, a desensitising misstep. Nevertheless the assured command of style situates Jabbaz as an impressive new voice in horror cinema. Read full review

Polygon Austen Goslin

May 11, 2022

[Rob Jabbaz] can’t find the proper measure of finesse and shamelessness to marry his grotesque gore and violence to, given the moral lessons he seems to think he’s obligated to offer. Read full review

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User Reviews

DausenMoore

Sep 11, 2022

This movie is one of the most shocking and violent I've ever seen, and I love it. My only complaint is the ending that while not bad, was somewhat disappointing.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

VicFerrari

Jun 13, 2022

'Crossed' lite. The director acknowledges the influence but favours the sadism and perversion over the social commentary which made Garth Ennis' comic such an enduring and disturbing classic. A passable exploitation film nonetheless.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

JeBjBo

Sep 9, 2022

Not the best and not the most violent "zombie" movie I've seen but a fun time with a couple of friends & beers nonetheless.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Broyax

Dec 29, 2022

Un film de zombis où les zombis ne sont pas comme… les autres zombis habituels ! ils ressemblent davantage à des cinglés dégénérés, cannibales (mais aussi violeurs !) particulièrement agressifs, rapides et brutaux… et bien tarés. Pour le reste, c’est du pareil au même évidemment avec uneUn film de zombis où les zombis ne sont pas comme… les autres zombis habituels ! ils ressemblent davantage à des cinglés dégénérés, cannibales (mais aussi violeurs !) particulièrement agressifs, rapides et brutaux… et bien tarés. Pour le reste, c’est du pareil au même évidemment avec une épidémie galopante qui sévit très sévèrement…

L’on y suit un jeune couple séparé par les évènements et qui tentent de survivre… La fille (cf l’affiche) est bien mignonne mais l’originalité de cette espèce de ‘Resident Evil’ réside avant tout dans sa violence sanglante et très sanguinolente… et souvent gore ! on a tellement de tripaille ici que ça en devient grotesque…

Pour autant, ce n’est pas assez délirant ou caricatural pour que ça en devienne drôle -ou alors rarement- et le manque de rigueur d’un scénario à la masse ne suffit pas à rendre l’ensemble crédible… en tout cas, pas plus de 5 mn ! et encore.

La réalisation est plutôt correcte mais là aussi, les défauts majeurs d’un film très creux sont la cause d’un ennui général regrettable. Même la fin en queue de poisson est assez bâclée, elle aussi… tout cela est donc un peu triste, car le film avait certainement du potentiel… mais il ne suffit pas de faire du gore : il faut aussi un vrai film tout autour !… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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