Hey gang, Valkor here. And as I swim through this vicious pile of films that I promised I would for the month of December, I came across one that I thought was buried treasure. But as I sat through that which is “Sorrow”, it turns out… I needed to toss this one back to the sea. So many spoilers ahead.
Sorrow is one of those films that’s “based on true events”, as we follow along with Mila (Vanessa Vasquez - Misfire)… wait… pause. We don’t get to her story right away, however we open with a cop named Salinas (Melissa Mars), who just arrived onto a horrific crime scene where a couple of serial killers lay dead along with a bunch of other horrific findings. The film jumps around a bit as we meet the two serial killers, a couple amidst breakup/getting back together again and a woman who looks to be on the run (Mila). The pieces of this weird puzzle begin to take shape as we journey into the mind of Mila; and it's through her flashback do we se how all comes together. Turns out, the two killers are a part of some strange cult, where they kidnap and kill women in the name of Satan. And yet Mila was the only one kept alive (for reasons unknown), and although she attempted escape once before, she is finally able to break free and to finds sanctuary in the home of strip club owner. The film switches gears back to the present, with Mila on the run and Salinas suddenly hot on her trail. And that’s when things get confrontational. Plus we get to to see the two killers meet their demise.
I was actually drawn to “Sorrow” based on the synopsis, which is something I don’t often do (I like to go in as fresh as possible); and from the synopsis, I believed I was getting something of a revenge type story. And after having sat through the film - twice, it ultimately didn’t turn out how I would have liked.
The Good:
I was going to put “N/A” here, because there really isn’t anything good to say about Sorrow. However, I gotta give props to Alethea Bailey aka Octavia, for temporarily giving the film a jolt it so desperately needed. She’s a bitch with something of a heart of gold (she did point Mila in the right direction to get help) and once she was gone… all I wanted was for her to come back and set things right.
The Bad:
My first of many issues with Sorrow began when I finished the film; I looked at the synopsis and box art and none of it matches! This isn’t so much a story about revenge, rather a woman who wants revenge after she spends much of the film in the clutches of these killers. I mean by the very end she does get payback, which we see the end results in the beginning of the film, but this isn’t the type of revenge story I wanted to see. Give me something like “I Spit on Your Grave”, “Run! Bitch Run!” or “I Saw the Devil” – anything but Sorrow. Also where’s the bat that we see on the box cover? Mila never uses a bat, but then again she doesn’t really confront the killers, at least not right away, not after she escapes. It's only happens at the end of the film and then it’s over. Next is the opening, which doesn’t do anything to set the viewer up for what’s to come, because when it starts, Mila has already escaped, the two killers are dead and the police are on the scene investigating. By the time we get back to Mila and begin the flashback, the whole thing becomes a huge WTF! I get that the creator wants to make a film that's out of sequence, and believe me you get props for ambition, but even if it's disjointed, it ultimately has to make sense and with Sorrow, none of what's happening - up until the flashback - makes much sense. Moving on to the killers… I’m not sure what their motivations are. I mean they show up talking about not wanting to go back to prison, then they start kidnapping/killing people wherever they go... what? And for them to kidnap and keep Mila? Well it makes absolutely no sense (unless I missed something in that mess of a film as to why they keep her at all). Finally, because I don’t wanna drag this section out too long, the end confrontation between Mila and Salinas, or rather how the hell did Salinas find Mila so quickly? When she goes to the hospital to question Mila about what happened, she’s gone and there’s nothing that points Salinas to Mila catching a bus let alone where the bus was gonna stop. I really could go on, but ultimately, from start to finish, Sorrow is one big mess of a film that never finds it footing.
The Ugly:
The two friends, drinking wine by the fireplace after one of them went through a breakup... this goes on waaaaaaay too long, for two characters who mean nothing – and I mean nothing – to this film. I simply don’t get why the two were given that much screen time to detail this breakup, only to have the one girl go back to the boyfriend and they both end up dead. Ugh!
Sorrow is available now on digital and physical formats, but don’t let the synopsis or the box art draw you in because you’ll be sorely disappointed by the end… if you even make it that far. Totally not worth it and I don’t recommend it on any level. And out of TOV 5 stars… Well I did make it to the end in two sittings and I liked the Octavia character… I’m gonna give Sorrow a 1.
