The Sadness must have the worst kind of plague that could ever happen to mankind—that what makes this stand out among countless zombie films out there. The film’s inspiration of a plague that turns people into bloodthirsty sadists takes inspiration from the comic series known as Crossed. Reminded me of The Crazies 2010 where the zombies are conscious and can make conversations, but their frontal lobe, where judgement, self-control, and emotions are, is fried.

The premise was unique to the usual zombie film formula. Though yes, they are undead, but like I said earlier. They’re somewhat conscious and bloodthirsty. They didn’t elaborate as to where the plague came from, just that it was a form of rabies. The director didn’t really invest much on the “story” part of it. It contains graphic violence. Period. From the moment it began, it didn’t let up and it just got crazier by the minute. Every victim that was showcased was killed and tortured in the worst inhumane way possible; and those crazy smiles whilst they do it was horrifying.

The casting in The Sadness was decent overall, but the couple of protagonists didn’t leave much of an impression. Compared to the “crazy old man,” who was far more captivating and had a certain intensity to his performance, the couple lacked chemistry. There was no real connection or spark between them, and the film didn’t make much effort to get the audience invested in their relationship or characters. It almost felt like their roles were secondary to the main goal of the film, which seemed to be focused solely on one thing: delivering as much violence and bloodshed as possible within the limited runtime.

Instead of developing the characters or building emotional investment, the film prioritized shock value and gore, making it harder to care about the protagonists’ fate. Ultimately, the lack of depth in their story made it feel more like a vehicle for violence rather than a truly engaging narrative.

I didn’t really feel anything about the couple. Instead of being the main focus point of the story, they became a distraction from the countless enjoyable craziness that’s happening around them. It sort of reminded me of Dead Alive 1992, except in a more serious manner. The undeads here were honestly more engaging than the couple, not really sure if it’s due to wrong casting, or having a romantic relationship doesn’t really fit in with the whole sadists taking over the world. It’s literally Hell on Earth if it were to happen. I think I’d rather have the plague in Contagion (2011) rather than this.

The ending of The Sadness though was good. The fact that they didn’t show it on-screen was also great. It was actually a squeamish film, but oh so satisfying how they made it. It was just an all-out satisfy-your-cravings kind of film. Highly recommended for those who are looking to get their blood pumping and could care less about the story.