I renewed my subscription to the horror streaming platform Shudder and dove into some of their library, coming across the 2022 zombie horror ‘The Sadness’ from director Rob Jabbaz, via Raven Banner Entertainment, that promised to take violence to another level.
With a number of horror streams to choose from, I started with the most intense, and the movie lived up to the billing.
“As Taiwan succumbs to a viral pandemic that transforms peaceful citizens into sadistic, bloodthirsty maniacs, a young couple must battle to be reunited before they too become infected.”
“The city of Taipei suddenly erupts into bloody chaos as ordinary people are compulsively driven to enact the most cruel and ghastly things they can imagine. Murder, torture, and mutilation are only the beginning… A young couple is pushed to the limits of sanity as they try to reunite amid the violence and depravity. The age of civility and order is no more.”
The Alvin virus, which is front and center and at a pandemic scale, is at the forefront of setting the table for the story, with a virologist warning everyone that Alvin may mutate into something like Rabes, prompting ridicule and disbelief.
Deniers of the virus say that it is a hoax or a political stunt, downplaying the seriousness of the virus, but the virologist’s warnings would come to fruition, as Alvin would mutate and a very violent, gory, and intense version of Rabies.
The movie is not for the faint of heart, as it is full of chaos, upsetting images, murder, torture, rape and mutilation, but offers a rather refreshing take on zombie horror.
It’s worth a watch, but only if you are open to a horror that not only toes the line, but aggressively crosses it.
