The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

89% Tomatometer 46 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings

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 Sadness

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Critics Consensus

The Sadness lives up to its title with an unstintingly grim -- and overall effective -- slice of dystopian horror.

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Critics Reviews

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The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Phuong Le Guardian The assured command of style situates Jabbaz as an impressive new voice in horror cinema. Rated: 3/5 May 17, 2022 Full Review The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com The Sadness is one of the more aggressively bleak, disturbing, and depraved horror films I’ve ever seen. Rated: 2.5/4 May 15, 2022 Full Review The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Simon Abrams RogerEbert.com Jabbaz’s movie isn’t exactly deep, but it does effectively channel his free-floating anxieties in ways both excessive and appropriately nasty. Rated: 3/4 May 12, 2022 Full Review The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Mike Thorn In Review Online Jabbaz’s primary focus is on cartoonishly gory entertainment. The director approaches scenes of carnage with glee... Oct 10, 2024 Full Review The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Bee Delores B-Sides & Badlands The Sadness is the epitome of nihilistic cinema. Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 11, 2024 Full Review The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Víctor López G. Espinof A gallery of cheap atrocities... [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 2.5/5 Nov 7, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member The Sadness is this sadistic, "edgy," gore reliant film. The Sadness should not be categorized as a "horror." The entire film was hard to watch, there wasn't exactly an interesting plot, and everything was just shoved in your face. I usually love body-horror movies, but The Sadness was outright a horrible watch. There were so many scenes depicting horrid sexual assault, toward both men and women. This is where the main "horror" comes from. Would not recommend this movie, wish I could rate it no star. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 12/19/24 Full Review GuestLord D Gave it a random watch after seeing a visual on Facebook.Story wise, the movie is okay, it's just another generic flick.The twist here lies with there being no "actual" zombies, just infected people who become crazed and seek to commit human crimes.It's quite extreme, this movie alone is much more graphic than anyone would expect. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/13/24 Full Review Oaklee D An originally depraved take on the zombie film. Well worth a watch. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/09/24 Full Review Robert W Fresh take on the "zombie" genre. Over the top splatter fest, with an uncomfortable sexual aspect. Not breaking any new ground here, but a heart pounding watch nonetheless.Not for casual fans of the genre, by any means.The crazies on hyper-gore mode. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/30/24 Full Review PloshOPlosh M A horror flick effectively addresses the distrust and irrational thinking in post-pandemic society. Many zombie movies feel less terrifying due to oversaturation, but this film elevates the genre by focusing on the sadism and evil stemming from our most vile human desires. The visceral gore and explicit sexual depravity push the film to the edge, which mostly servs a purpose except for one scene involving a character.The violence feels icky and sadistic rather than just bloody and gory, adding an unsettling layer to what would otherwise just be a familiar Zombie film plot. However, the pacing of the horrific and thrilling sequences keeps the watch entertaining and tense throughout. The characters are realistic, intelligent, and likable enough to invested in them and their escape from this nightmare.The performances of the two leads are solid, but the real standout is the main villain and the infected extras, who are both terrifying and gleefully vile. They spew some awful and nasty things to our characters. Despite its low budget, the film compensates with ample blood and convincingly gruesome gore. The make-up for the infected is also well done - using these dark-red contacts and snot ridden face make-up that felt uniquely ugly and scary-looking.Like its violence, the film’s message can feel blunt and in-your-face. A key climax features a long monologue from a character who makes interesting points about human nature and the lengths we go to satisfy our needs/pleasures—whether through individual sexual harassment or societal denial of clear signs of danger to maintain a sense of normalcy.Surprisingly, the ending includes a haunting final exchange that elevates what could have been an unremarkable conclusion. The film is undeniably bleak and nihilistic and is clearly not for everyone as many of the scenes of violence are so extreme, it can be upsetting for some. In my book, this film cements itself as a true standout and effective zombie flick in recent years. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Bianca B I understand what they were going for and it is a deeply disturbing, dystopian film, but for me personally the plot left a lot to be desired. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Read all reviews

The Sadness

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Cast & Crew

Rob Jabbaz Director Regina Lei Actor Tzu-Chiang Wang Actor Berant Zhu Actor Ying-Ru Chen Actor Wei-Hua Lan Actor
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Synopsis 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.

Director
Rob Jabbaz

Producer
David Barker, Wei-Chun Li, Jeffrey Huang

Screenwriter
Rob Jabbaz

Genre
Horror

Original Language
Chinese

Release Date (Streaming)
May 12, 2022

Runtime
1h 39m
The Sadness (2021) | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)
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