Zombie fans will be quick to tell you that The Sadness is not a zombie film, it is an infected people film. To some, the distinction is slight since both types of films deal with deadly hordes gaining ground in an increasingly dystopian society. And both place protagonists in stories of survival. The two genres are so similar that I have often labeled them as one, referring to them as “zombie/inflected” films. 

But there are some subtle differences between the two genres, particularly with what you can do with “infected” people. For example, you can make the murderous infected somewhat cognizant, like in The Crazies or Mom + Dad. Traditionally, zombies are slow moving and their strength comes from numbers, but in 28 Days Later… Danny Boyle revealed the horror of having his rage-fuelled infected run. 

So just what innovation does director Rob Zobbaz bring to table with his infected people film The Sadness? No lie…Sexual depravity. Think The Crazies with rape, sodomy and orgies. 

So it’s of no wonder why so many content warnings were slapped upon this Taiwanese horror before it even started. The Sadness is a border-line extreme horror, though how extreme you feel it really is depends a bit on what you’ve watched before. If you have watched films like Irreversible or A Serbian Film, then The Sadness will not seem all that extreme -both which get nods in scenes involving the fire extinguisher and an empty eye-socket. But if you haven’t seen these films, then you’re probably in for a bit of a ride. But truth be told, if the Sadness actually qualifies as an extreme horror- like the Shudder write-up suggests- it is definitely entrance level and that, for a “infected people” film, is not necessarily a bad thing.

The Sadness follows Kat (Regina Lei) and Jim (Berant Zhu) as two twenty-somethings who find themselves at odds while navigating the balance between career and relationship. 

Meanwhile, in the background, scientists attempt to raise concerns in the media about the Alvin virus, a flu-like disease that has dominant qualities that are one mutation away from being closer to rabies. Of course, the COVID-weary public is having none of it, feeling the scientists are raising panic unnecessarily.

But when Jim takes Kat to work, they pass a bizarre, bloody crime scene that Jim, on his drive back, notes has been oddly abandoned. Where did the police and others go and why did they leave their vehicles?

The Sadness makes good use of current events when crafting its story. Like #Alive, this is a very much a pandemic story. But while #Alive is an allegory about the isolation that comes while being in lockdown, The Sadness tackles the anger that accompanies a public that fears being forced back into lockdown. Zobbaz depicts the people of Taiwan as willing to risk complete, though still hypothetical, annihilation than spend another moment forcefully removed from their normal activities- a sentiment that resonates right now everywhere in the world.

When the bloodshed starts, people look at blank television screens absent of guidance from the politicians. Then when guidance finally does come, the broadcast ends horrifically. Things are too late.

Zobbaz even uses the virus itself as a subtle form of social commentary. The virus doesn’t kill, at least not in the short term. Instead it removes inhibitions and the killing is just part of that mayhem that follows. The soon-to-be businessman lamenting about days where a man could compliment (and publicly harass) a woman is not unintentional. The subtext implies a world where anarchy and absolute freedom have started to erode progressive values, which is the real-world end-goal of a number of disruptive ideologies that exist today.

And yes, I see the delicious irony of having such a liberal message hiding in such a vile package.

Of course, there is irony in the film’s title as well. Those infected by the virus are not sad at all. Crazy…absolutely. A threat to the uninfected few still clinging to hopes of an orderly world…for sure. But if guilt or sadness lies within them, their smiles tell a different tale. 

Structurally, The Sadness is told in vignettes going back and forth between Kat and Jim as they attempt to reconnect, allowing for the film to move at a steady pace. In each vignette, the inhumanity of the infected contrasts well with Kat’s and Jim’s attempts at humanity, though as in all good zombie/infected films, their humanity will become increasingly challenged it will ultimately seem futile. 

If The Sadness has a weakness, it is that by focusing on excessive content, Zobbaz fails to make a moment that floors us emotionally. (I guess I wanted the film to be even more of a downer.) Had The Sadness done both, it could have been one of the best zombie/infected movies ever made. But as it stands, the film is still a really fun romp that I highly recommend.

The Sadness is a no-holds barred horror packed full of post-pandemic commentary. At its best, it is a film that warns us how tenuous our social order really is and how easily it could tip past the breaking point. 

Where you personally stand on The Sadness will likely depend on your feelings over its inclusion of sexual content. I understand those who may feel like its gratuitous, but I also feel that the social commentary is stronger with the infected acting uninhibited instead of purely murderous or cannibalistic. There is extra horror in thinking that this is a part of our true selves being unleashed.