The Sadness (2021) – Rob Jabbaz.

Grossly mutated virus turns regular Taiwanese folk into rampant, grossly mutated attack zombies. It would have been more intriguing, to see a apocalyptic zombie chunkblower based on a catastrophically negative biological reaction to fashionista foodstuffs so beloved of 'celebrities', and mindlessly shilling internet 'wellness' scum. Thereby, the higher echelon/ bourgeois elements die off horribly, and the rest of us schmendricks, who live like junk-yard dogs inherit an earth finally free of duplicitous corporate soul suckers. I'm not a fan of 28 days Later, many are, and that's peachy with me, The Sadness is manifestly of that ilk, when it might have been more memorable taking its lead from 'Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things', or 'The Dead One'.

My lizard brain appreciated the splashy gore, and its unceasing glumness, as the pitiless lack of hope recalled my own abject solitude. Jabbaz's nihilistic, black-orbed ghouls are prodigiously sexed-up monsters, much like the sickened wretches in Cronenberg's Rabid, yet Rabid remains a far stranger, infinitely more compelling horror film than The Sadness. While competently made, and amusingly nasty, it is not based upon a true story, and that made me very sad indeed. To be fair, some of the film is blackly funny, I'm just not much of a plague zombie guy, but each to their own, ya? Did the kindly, Thai basil growing Mr. Lin get to finger our handsome hero's dishy girlfriend? You will have to watch Jabbaz's zeitgeisty splatter film and find out.