Sint
He knows when you're sleeping
I actually started watching another horror movie (which will go unnamed because I might review it in the future) and became incredibly bored. I decided to watch another movie and was flipping through Netflix when I saw the poster for the Dutch horror movie, Sint (also known as Saint Nick and Saint). That's a pretty cool poster, so cool in fact that it won a Dutch award for “best cinema poster of the year.” Let's get into some killer Sinterklaas action!
One December 5th 1492, the evil bishop Niklas (Huub Stapel and his group of henchmen terrorizes a small town. The villagers have had enough and fight back, killing the henchmen and burning Niklas alive. Since then, every December 5th that falls on a full moon, St. Niklas has returned to kill not just naughty children, but nice children and adults as well. In 2010, the full moon will fall once again on December 5th. Student Frank (Egbert Jan Weeber ) has just been dumped by his girlfriend, and is trying to move on with his new lady friend, Lisa. Meanwhile, police officer Goert (Bert Luppes), who's family was murdered by St. Niklas 40 years ago, is trying to warn his commanding officer about the massacre that will occur. His boss doesn't want to hear it, and gives Goert the night off. That night, Frank dresses up like St. Niklas for a party and his friends and ex-girlfriend are murdered by Niklas's hencmen, Zwarte Pieten (Black Peters). Frank is arrested and blamed for the murders. Goert helps Frank escape and they go after Niklas who has already killed scores of children and adults. The only way to kill Niklas is with fire and Goert plans to blow him up. Will they be able to stop the evil Sinterklaas or will it be a silent night, deadly night for Frank and Goert?
BRAAAAINS! Oh, and presents.
I don't know much about Sinterklaas, but the story is ripe for a horror movie. Sint is your typical holiday horror, taking a beloved holiday character and making them into a bloodthirsty monster. It has the usual cliches, like no one believing the main characters, being blamed for the villains crime, and having to stop the villain yourself. That being said, it's nice to see horror movies from countries other than the United States. It has a local flair to it that adds some originality to an otherwise clunky story. The version I watch was unfortunately dubbed very poorly, so I can't really comment on the quality of acting. The acting looked god, but the dubbed voices were expressive in all the wrong places and were devoid of good emotion. I prefer subtitles over dubbing anyway and would have enjoyed hearing the original Dutch language.
Sint has a lot of fun violence and plenty of blood. There is plenty of action to keep you entertained and some decent effects. There is a rooftop chase scene involving a horse that is fun, but clearly a blue screen effect. Obviously I don't want a real horse jumping from roof to roof, but the effect looks like it was taken from a movie in the early 90's, not 2010. The movie has a bit of dark humor, but I think some of it may be lost on an American audience. The country-wide conspiracy to keep the murderous St. Niklas out of the news is a fun touch, though it doesn't really make much sense since so many people saw him throughout the night.
Why the long face, Sinterklaas?
Sint takes the legend of Sinterklaas and throws it on the big screen with an even bigger horror story than it already has. The plot is pretty unoriginal, but the action is good and the violence is fun. The dubbing on this version is pretty bad, so I would suggest finding the original version with subtitles. Sint may not be the best Christmas/Feast of St. Nicholas related movies, but it is still worth checking out.
6.5/10
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