Saint

Storywise "Sint" is kind of a rip-off of the killer Santa classic "Silent Night, Deadly Night", but the comparisons end there. While the latter is only still around because it's laughably bad, this one has actual redeeming features like a dark, moody atmosphere and a little bit of humour at exactly the right times. Writer/Director Dick Maas loves to toy with our expectations and every guess you'll make about the story developments will probably be wrong. For instance, you think tremendous hottie Caro Lenssen will serve as the Laurie Strode of this story and the finale will be her fighting off the unstoppable villain, but in fact she barely comes into play in the rest of the story (unfortunately...). Our final girls are an old drunk and a sex-crazed teenage boy, that's pretty creative to say the least. The production values of this movie are also surprisingly high. For a movie that "only" cost four million to make, the effects look pretty amazing. The killings are just relentlessly gory, Dick Maas definitely burned the candle on both ends to disgust his audience. "Sint" is one of those rare horror comedies that manage to be both scary and funny, most can't even get one of the two right. A thrilling ride.

Culturally not being very well acquainted with Saint Nicholas other than the globally popular image of Santa Claus and the fact that the historical figure behind it had lived in Turkey in ancient times, I was very much intrigued by this movie. Unfortunately, the prologue of the movie, which sets the background for the evil St. Nicholas, was very succinct -and confusing for international audiences (why the Middle Ages setting?, what's the Spanish connection?), and, I guess not only for non-Christians but for anyone outside the local audience of Holland. I mean since apparently St.Nicholas of Holland itself is somewhat different than Santa Claus, it was difficult to understand how much the filmmakers themselves had modified Santa Claus and how much of this difference stemmed from the Dutch cultural understanding of St.Nicholas as distinct from Santa Claus and how much from the filmmakers' own fiction-making. Anyway, I had to do some online research after-wards to put the film's narrative in context and I am not complaining in that regard. As a horror movie, the first half was somewhat mediocre other than the basic novelty of introducing a murderous Santa Claus in a conventional Halloween-esque slasher narrative. Yet, things got more interesting in the second half as unfolding events moved away from baby-sitting female characters in their homes at night et al. In the second half, we were offered some great and amazing visuals as St. Nicholas on horseback riding atop rooftops! The ancient ship setting at the old harbor at the finale was also nice. All in all, I would say this is a movie worth a look if you do not set your expectations very high.

SINT is one of the most talked about movies in The Netherlands in 2010. When I went to the cinema it was exactly the movie I expected. It was a combination of the old school horror style of Dick Maas, great special effects, and a sense of humor that I haven't seen in Dutch movies for a long time. The special effects might not be as amazing as we're used to as the standard is Pirates of the Caribbean. However, considering the small budget (compared to movies from Hollywood) the effects we're pretty nice. I've heard some rumors that they might make a sequel and I definitely hope that these rumors are true. All together a fun experience. I can recommend this movie very much!

It seems to me that most of the reviewers have missed the point. That there was none. This movie is simply out to entertain. It is not one of those kinds that depend on a chilling story or strong characters.(Although there were some sequences that were quite thrilling). It simply is a slasher movie based on a classic myth and still grand celebration in the Netherlands of the original St. Nicolas.Sinterklaas (OG Santa if you will).It is supposed to be over the top.Bad acting,bad dialog,not very likable characters,and lots of lots of (CGI) blood and gore. To expect more will surely lead to disappointment.Everybody familiar with Dick Maas previous work could have expected this. Since it is far from a stretch even when this production is more leaning towards a comedy.And his comedies weren't exactly of the subtle and clever kind. Maybe not completely on par with Dead Snow and Rare exports (which can be debated) it sure does provide the same amount of entertainment.

I went to see this yesterday with high expectations. After all, the movie was hyped a lot here. Fortunately most of my expectations were fulfilled.

The story: The story is straight forward and sometimes a bit predictable. The fun part is of course that Dick Maas has turned Sinterklaas from the child loving person he normally is, into a blood-lust zombie. So every 30 to 40 years, when the 5th of December is with full moon, blood thirsty Nickolas and his party of zombies, come to spoil the party. Only, this time, there's someone waiting to stop him.

The good: This is movie is all you can ask for in a horror comedy. The mix between scary moments and laughs is just right.

The bad: Well, some of the actors (especially the non-main characters) could use some acting lessons. Fortunately most of them don't last long enough to be bothered by it too much..... Also some of the explanations for the evil behaviour of Sinterklaas are very thin. Dick Maas should have come up with something better there.

The conclusion: All in all, it's good fun to watch. Some minor bits should be taken care of in the case of a sequel (can't wait), but those can easily be overlooked. That's why my final verdict is 8 out of ten.