Saturday November 27th Midnight
Taiwan • 2021 • 99 Min • Horror • Taiwanese W/ English Subtitles
Content Warning
Extreme Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language, & Sexual Assault
Director
Rob Jabbaz
Writer
Rob Jabbaz
Producers
David Barker
Cast
Ying-Ru Chen, Ralf Chiu, Wei-Hua Lan
Preceded by the short film
VISITORS
Kenichi Ugana, 16 Min, Japan
This cross between Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Sam Raimi is the perfect primer for the madness of The Sadness.
WARNING: CONTAINS EXTREMELY VIOLENT IMAGERY AND SUBJECT MATTER INCLUDING SEXUAL ASSAULT
This year’s festival ends with a film that Rue Morgue magazine has dubbed “the most violent and depraved zombie movie ever made.”
With a plot a bit too close to home, the government has chosen to ignore the effects of the ongoing “Alvin Virus” pandemic despite warnings from leading virologists. The nation lets its guard down, and the virus suddenly mutates into a mind-altering variant that turns ordinary people into sadistic, bloodthirsty “zombies.” The infected are driven to perform the cruelest and most horrifying acts they can think of; torture, rape, mutilation, there are no boundaries. Even worse, one scientist suggests that the infected are aware of what they’re doing but can’t control their cravings—”it’s like fighting the urge to blink.” Amid this intense chaos, a young couple is pushed to their limits as they fight for their lives to reunite.
With a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (at the writing of this entry), THE SADNESS lives up to its hype. But please be warned, the film is vile, the gore is extreme, the outlook is bleak, and THE SADNESS will repeatedly punch you in the gut while daring you to look away.
“Even the most hardcore horror fans may take issue with some of the abuse on display here. But there’s a sense of release watching this kind of explosive gore.”
“Jabbaz’s confident, daring debut operates on pure, unbridled fury. It’s a vicious anthem that keeps you in its grip, forces you to stare into the abyss, and dares you to look away.”