Film

The Sadness

Name: The Sadness
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 2021
Cast: Berant Zhu, Regina Lei, Wang Tzu-chiang, Apple Chen, Lan Wei-hua

Zombie horror
Very dark

A Taiwanese horror film about a couple torn apart during a pandemic where the infected are driven to sadistic violence. Visceral, uncompromising, and genuinely disturbing—it commits fully to its premise without winking. For viewers who want horror that feels dangerous and don't need their protagonists coddled.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like outbreak horror with ferocious, unrelenting physical momentum, where a young couple's desperate search for each other keeps the carnage moving forward and you're happy to be pinned in place by it.

Skip it if the violence is extreme and close-up for most of its hundred minutes, so if graphic cruelty wears you down instead of thrilling you, it will feel punishing.

What it asks of you: The pace rarely lets up across its hundred minutes, and the mood stays grim and frantic, with almost no quiet to catch your breath.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

28 Days Later2002

The template for infected-as-savage-chaos. Danny Boyle's kinetic direction and emotional core make the horror personal, not just spectacle. A masterclass in escalation.

But The middle section loses momentum as the infected fade and human conflict takes over. Some find that shift disappointing.

Martyrs2008

French extremity horror that refuses compromise. Like The Sadness, it treats graphic suffering seriously rather than exploitatively, asking brutal questions about what viewers will endure.

But Genuinely punishing to watch. If you're seeking catharsis or entertainment, this isn't it. The final act divides people sharply.

Train to Busan2016

A Korean thriller that pairs zombie horror with intimate character stakes. The confined setting amplifies dread, and it earns its emotional payoffs without sacrificing momentum.

But The social commentary about class can feel heavy-handed. Some sequences play as melodrama rather than horror.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Sadness

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Requiem for a Dream2000

Both use escalating visual/sonic chaos to show loss of self and descent into a version of reality that no longer obeys previous rules. The infected in The Sadness and the addicts in Requiem are both trapped in progressive dehumanization.

Darren Aronofsky's portrait of addiction and degradation uses montage and visual distortion to make internal collapse feel like apocalypse. The same principle as The Sadness: form mirrors content, and beauty and horror become indistinguishable.

But Not a thriller or genre film—it's an extended emotional demolition. Slower, deliberately constructed, and the repetition can feel like punishment rather than entertainment.

Possessor2020

Brandon Cronenberg's body-horror thriller about identity dissolution. Visually precise and deeply unsettling, it shares The Sadness's commitment to showing violence without flinching.

But Deliberately sterile cinematography keeps you at arm's length emotionally. The plot is secondary to the atmosphere of violation.

Contracted2013

A micro-budget indie that weaponizes bodily horror and degradation. Watches like a descent into hell, with genuine stakes and no reassurance. Earned cult status for good reason.

But The protagonist's vulnerability becomes punishing rather than sympathetic. Graphic and bleak without the narrative pay-off some expect.

The Darkest Hour2011

A Russian sci-fi horror film where alien invasion creates urban collapse and moral degradation. The chaos and unsettling social breakdown parallel The Sadness's exploration of civilization's fragility.

But The pacing is uneven and the English subtitles sometimes feel poorly matched to the dialogue. Low-budget effects haven't aged gracefully.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D2012

A video-game adaptation that actually understands atmosphere and dread. The creature design and practical effects create genuine unease without relying on jump scares.

But The plot is a mess and fans of the games find it misguided. If you need a coherent story, this won't satisfy you.

ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 22011

Splatter-horror that's willing to show consequences. Visceral without being smart, but it commits to its brutality and moves fast enough to keep you off-balance.

But Largely plot-free with paper-thin characterization. Pure shock value gets exhausting if you're watching for anything deeper.

Goodnight Mommy2015

Both weaponize the violation of the body and the home as sites of horror. The Sadness asks what happens when society breaks; Goodnight Mommy asks what happens when the family unit does. Same structural question, domestic scale instead of pandemic scale.

Austrian body-horror that operates as psychological nightmare. Disturbing premise executed with surgical precision. A feature-length exploration of what happens when reality fractures and violence becomes the only language left.

But The twist recontextualizes everything you've watched. If you hate the sensation of being deliberately misled by a film, this will enrage you. And it's bleak in ways that don't resolve.

Climax2018

Both stage collapse and depravity in confined or collapsing spaces. Both understand that the real horror is what people become when social rules dissolve—not external monsters, but each other. The infected in The Sadness and the dancers in Climax are both locked in situations where cruelty becomes inevitable.

Gaspar Noé's dance-horror film traps young dancers in an enclosed space where drugs and paranoia unravel civilization. Formally audacious—told partially in reverse—and genuinely distressing without cheap scares. The violence emerges from character and circumstance, not plot convenience.

But Experimental structure demands active watching. The sound design is deliberately punishing. If you want narrative clarity or conventional entertainment, this deliberately withholds it.