Every few years I end up watching a horror film which ‘ups’ what I have previously watched. Whilst I have seen quite a few extreme horror movies over the years, its always great to see one that surprises me. Now Im not a gore hound, I don’t seek out a film because its gory, or because its nasty. I see out films because the story looks interesting and as long as any gore within the film fits within the storyline. I’m fine.  I remember hearing about The Sadness during the pandemic and whilst I didn’t know what the films plot was, I heard people saying the film was great! and that it was highly recommended. So when it dropped into the Shudder streaming platform, I checked it out. 

The film centres around  fictitious virus called ‘The Alvin Virus’ which has its roots in the same world as the rabies virus. Within the world of The Sadness, there are many who are saying that the virus doesn’t exist, or that its nothing worse than the flu and so they go about their days ignoring the news reports talking about this growing pandemic.  

The Sadness runs for 99 Minutes and the film spends the first 15 minutes of the film brilliantly introducing us to the films main characters, and setting up the world and situation that is all ready to erupt. And erupt it does with pure chaos and violence. The streets soon erupt into violence and depravity as those infected are driven to enact the most sadistic and ghastly acts they can think of. The first full on attack we see involves a pan of hot chip fat going over someone’s head. Brutal stuff! The second involves a gore filled tense and brutal outbreak on a subway carriage.   The Sadness is certainly not a film for those with a weak stomach but it 100% is a film for people who love great films (and who can tolerate the violence) Ive seen this film three times now and it doesn’t lose any of its impact on repeat viewings. 

Whilst The Sadness doesnt hold back on the gore, this film isn’t a case of making a film just for the gore. The violence and bloodshed all fit within the world that filmmaker Rob Jabbaz has built for The Sadness.  Whilst it is of course a made up storyline, the film still feels very well and is beautifully shot which gives is a more powerful feel to it.  

Having just watched this release on 4K, I can say without any shadow of a doubt that The Sadness has never looked better. Don’t get me wrong, when I saw the film on Shudder, there was nothing wrong with the picture quality or the day the film sounded, but on this 4K bluray, the film looks and sounds stunning! Straight from the opening titles showing virus proteins mutating, you can tell that this is going to be a visually impressive upgrade from watching the film on streaming.  So even if you have seen the film before or perhaps own a previous DVD or bluray release of the film. Its worth considering this upgrade. As well as the upgrade in the films audio and video quality, this release also have some interesting special features.

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in High Dynamic Range
• Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles

• There’s a brand new audio commentary with writer/director Rob Jabbaz and cinematographer Bai Jie-Li and  two archival audio commentaries with writer/director Rob Jabbaz, one with composers Tzechar and one with medical advisor Shu.  I always enjoy audio commenteries and these chat tracks are great, giving you great insights into …well pretty much everything you need to know or want to know about this stunning film. 

• There are six behind-the-scenes featurettes: The Director (a short 3 minute chat with Rob Jabbaz), The Business Man (with actor Wang Tzu Chiang, this runs for just over 3 minutes and is English subtitled), The Special Effects (with make up artist Victor Chang, which last for just 68 seconds and also is English subtitled) , The Art Department (with art director Liu Chin-fu which is also a minute long featurette)  and The Production (which is a healthier 5 minute long featurette), and finally Colour Grading Comparison with Colourist Paul Hanrahan which is a really interesting 11 minute look at the process of colour grading the film. 

If there is a tiny downside to these featurettes then its the run time of the featurettes, they are very short but if you take into account that this release has three full length audio commenteries, then any information you think you might be missing from the short featurettes is more than made up in the great chat tracks. So it all balances out wonderfully

You also get two short films directed by Rob Jabbaz: Fiendish Funnies (2013) and Clearwater (2020)

Clearwater (2020)runs for just over 6 minutes and tells the story of The Girl (played by Joan LoLuo) a young woman who visits a secluded riverbank to relax in the sun. When shes bittern by a mosquito, it becomes clear that there is a secret force of nature at work. And it wants more than just a drop of blood. 

Fiendish Funnies (2013) runs for three minutes and is an animated short film which is dialogue free and is definitely an odd short film but is very cool to see! Id love to put into words what the plot of this one is but…..im not that good at wordage! If you do pick up this release of The Sadness, do make sure you check out this super creative short even though its so strange! Its worth noting that Fiendish Funnies is the short film that features in The Sadness and is the thing that Jim watches on TV just before Mr Lin starts to sneak up behind him near the start of the movie. 

Running for 7 minutes and 39 minutes we get a great North American premiere introduction as well as a post-screening Q&A at the 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival I love Q&A panels and this ones great. The Q&A Features Writer/Director Rob Jabbaz where he goes through the usual things you hear in Q&A’s  (where the film idea came from, how it came to be made)  Highly recommended!

For the packaging fans out there, this release gets a lovely reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Johnny Ryan and an Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring selections of Rob Jabbaz’s storyboards and gore guides, plus new writing on the film by Michelle Kisner and Josh Hurtado

To simply say that The Sadness is a film Id recommend isnt a good enough way to say it. The Sadness for me, is easily one of the best horror films I’ve seen in years and as long as your stomach can tolerate the gore, then I cant recommend this film enough. Its tense, its brutal. its pacing is brilliant and with this Arrow Video release, its also a definite must buy for audio/visual fans. 

The Sadness releases on 4K bluray from October 20th.