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"The Sadness" dir. by Rob Jabbaz


"The Sadness"

Where I watched it: Shudder

I've had a number of people recommend this one to me. Clearly it's a stand out film for better or worse and a lot of that comes down to the gore factor. I've seen a lot of horror movies and a lot of gore but let me tell you... this one is GOREY. Not only is it gorey but it's super sickening. Without giving too much away, there's a Corona virus style outbreak where the virus causes people to act extremely violent and aggressive toward one another. Think Covid-19 meets the T-Virus meets the wind from The Happening. But with one extremely sickening twist... these zombies won't just maim, kill and eat you... they'll rape you along the way too.

No one is safe in this zombie rapist outbreak as we soon learn, everyone is dying and being raped left right and center. Super violent torture with genuinely convincing prosthetics and practical effects will make you want to barf. The level of violence and sexual assault in this reach levels perhaps not yet achieved in cinema and maybe for good reasons.

Often when I watch horror films I talk favorably about gore and violence. I want to be clear that I don't like violence and torture or things of this nature in real life... and when it is being spotlighted on the silver screen I prefer it to be done with some sort of purpose. Films like The Green Inferno or A Serbian Film wax philosophical or political but ultimately feel like excuses to push the envelope by showing THE MOST shocking scenes that they can imagine. Like, Mortal Kombat fatalities are pretty brutal but you can't just have a reel of fatalities back to back and call it a movie.

"The Sadness" sadly feels like it's just that. Gross for grossness' sake. It's super gross but it's super pointless. I think there's some sort of subtext mirroring Covid and how pandemics are politicized for various gain.

Felt a little cheap in terms of the cinematography and the acting. No doubt most of the budget went to the gore effects.

Loved the scene with the "baseball team" just for its visceral horror. But again didn't really add too much, in fact it actually goes against the lore that is later mentioned (they don't go after each other, it's not rape if it's consenting, yadda yadda). Also why is there a baseball team at the basketball court!

Overall, if you want to see something disgusting and violent AF, check this out but be warned it's hella rapey. If you're looking for story or really anything outside of pure chaos and gore, you're going to leave this feeling disappointed.

5/10

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