Sint

Sint (Saint) is a solid little Sinterklaas based Christmas horror-comedy out of the Netherlands...directed by the aptly named, Dick Maas.

According to the myth, on December 5th, once every 23 years- when the full moon falls upon this day- Saint Niklas would sail to the Netherlands, from Spain, in order to murder people and kidnap their children...which he would bring back with him on his ship, to enslave.

One man knows this tale to be true first hand, for he witnessed Saint Niklas murder his entire family 23 years ago. Now he works as an inspector for the police...and has been trying to warn his superiors about what lies in store for them this December 5th- but they think he is just traumatized from his childhood ordeal.

Thinking this is all an old legend, the rest of the population goes about their holiday business; dressing up like Sinterklaas' and Black Piet's; holding frat parties and such.

Only when people start getting slayed by a Catholic dude on horseback and his legion of black axe-wielding demons; do people realize what's going on.

And there is only one way to send him back from whence he came...to stop the murders, and prevent any more children from being kidnapped, once and for all.

This Dutch Christmas treat is well worth a watch. It's a nice blend of horror and comedy, with lots of gore, and some creative kills. But the ending is kind of lame. It really felt rushed, and forced (unnecessarily), by the time it rolled around. But that only mildly detracts from it's overall entertainment value.

Check it out.

6 out of 10.

Christmas has always enjoyed its fair market share of holiday comedy horror themes, and it's clear this unique genre shows no signs of slowing down. Fortunately, for those of us who occasionally enjoy this eclectic category, there's no lack of Holiday Horror films to choose from. Certain standout offerings include American films like Santa's Slay (2005) and Krampus (2015), Finland's Rare Exports (2010), and the Dutch holiday horror treat, Saint (2010).

Saint (aka "Sint") fits into this extraordinary film category quite nicely, blatantly ignoring the benign traditions of steaming cups of strong hot chocolate, knee shaking bowls of almond-flavored marzipan, and even the holiday Elf himself, jolly old St. Nick. Instead, we must fend ourselves against a malignant, ancient and deadly Spirit who rides a pure white spirit horse and seems unstoppable. For you see, in this Netherlands holiday tradition, it's not about December 24th, nor Kris Kringle's annual supersonic flight to magnanimously deliver toys to all the good children of the world. Instead, the focus is the Dutch Sinterklass, or more accurately, Bishop Saint Nickolas, a murderous pirate-spirit who returns every 23 years to mercilessly slay anyone who does not honor him with the proper homage. And instead of Santa Claus's helper Elves, the evil Bishop is accompanied by an equally barbarous crew called "Black Peters," where, on December 5th, and specifically, on a night where there is a full moon, bad things happen to nice people.

No spoilers here as usual, but I will reveal that the spectacular scenes of the Bishop atop his white steed speedily charging over the rooftops of Amsterdam is something you will never forget. For me, this well executed film has sparked a new interest in foreign holiday movies (especially when they are nicely dubbed in English).

I hope the film's director, Dick Maas, will consider either a sequel or a new film in this genre. His own stardom awaits him.

Sint Niklaas, or "Sinterklaas", is a typically Dutch and Belgian tradition that occurs every year on the 5th and 6th of December. The legend states that, on his own birthday, the noble Saint rewards all the well-behaving children with toys and candy. When the children are asleep, the heavily bearded man walks over the rooftops on his white horse while his black assistants drop the presents down the chimneys. Does that sound vaguely familiar? Well actually, Sint Niklaas formed the inspiration for the universally acknowledged jolly figure of Santa Clause. The first Dutch immigrants in the United Stated re-implemented their national tradition oversees and linked it to the Christmas period. There, now all you non-Dutch speaking people with an interest in this film have some essential, need-to-know trivia about the titular character.

About the plot of "Sint" I can be rather brief. You know all the concept of US horror movies with a psychopathic Santa Clause, like for example "Silent Night Deadly Night", "You Better Watch Out" and "Santa Slay". Well, "Sint" is exactly the same. Writer/director Dick Maas (the only true horror prodigy of The Netherlands) wants to make us believe that Saint Niklaas wasn't a holy and generous figure, but a sadistic tyrant who plundered villages and terrorized the inhabitants. In the year 1492 on the fifth of December, he was burned alive by an angry mob. Even still now whenever there's a full moon on the anniversary of his violent death, which apparently occurs, once every 32 years, the evil saint returns to Amsterdam to butcher as many adults and children as possible.

"Sint" should be experienced exactly like Dick Maas intended it: as a highly amusing and deeply satirical splatter flick! Everything about it is wondrously grotesque and over-the-top; the whole basic idea, the acting performances and (especially) the dialogs. The gory massacres, including those of innocent young children, are so tremendously bombastic that you simply cannot be shocked or offended by them. At least not if you have a slight sense of dark humor. The special effects and make-up are graphic and engrossing, but too obviously fake. Naturally there's isn't much room for genuine suspense in this type of story, but – as said – that clearly wasn't the director's intention and at least he widely compensates this small shortcoming with fast-paced action and black comedy.

The film became infamous and caused quite some controversy in The Netherlands long before its premiere in theaters because promotional film posters, depicting the mutilated Sint on his menacing horse, were hung in public areas out there for young kids to see. Quite a number of sour and prudish people were upset about this, but plenty of questionnaires proved that the children themselves weren't shocked at all. For Dick Maas, the whole controversy just turned out to be more than welcome and cost-free publicity. Well done.

According to popular European folklore, kindly Saint Niklas visits the homes of good children on December 5th, dropping gifts down their chimneys. In Sint, writer/director Dick Maas (Amsterdamned, Down) subverts this legend, his Saint Niklas shown to be a renegade, murderous, 15th century bishop who abducted children, but who was eventually confronted by angry villagers and burnt alive on his ship. Now, whenever a full moon occurs on December 5th, Saint Niklas leaves the netherworld and heads for the Netherlands, killing people and snatching kids in Amsterdam, aided in his work by his helpers, the 'Black Peters'.

When his ex-girlfriend is found dead, killed by the nasty saint, student Frank (Egbert Jan Weeber) is suspected of murder, and must try to prove his innocence, joined in his fight against Niklas by rogue policeman Goert Hoekstra (Bert Luppes), whose own family were slaughtered 32 years earlier.

Sint suffers from pacing issues, with some serious lulls between the action scenes, but when Maas is firing on all cylinders, the film is a lot of demented fun, with the malevolent bishop and his blackened cronies chopping and slicing and impaling their victims in gory fashion (with some excellent FX). The film looks great, boasting lovely cinematography, and there are some impressive set-pieces - a bloody attack on Frank and his friends, Saint Niklas riding his horse over the rooftops of Amsterdam (particularly good given the budget), and the massacre of a group of Special-ops - it's a shame, then, that the madness and momentum doesn't continue throughout the whole film, 'cos if it had this could've easily become a firm festive favourite (Elf has never been my style).

6/10.

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.