Saint (2010)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

December 5, 1492. Former bishop Niklas and his gang have gotten away with too much. The villagers have had it up to here with their antics, like looting and killing, so they kill them off. Yet for every year after that coincides with a full moon, they return as ghosts with murderous intent.The film then inverts all the holiday traditions of the Netherlands: Sinterklass is not a jolly fat man, he's a killer with a sharp staff that he won't hesitate to use. His elves, the Zwarte Pieten, don't have faces blackened from the soot of chimneys, but instead they have been burned alive.The last time the real Sinterklass came back was in 1968 and hundreds of people were killed, including the family of Goert, who is now a policeman. That traumatic event has been covered up by the authorities and the Catholic Church, who want Saint Nick to remain pure.With another full moon coming, Goert tries to ban all Sinterklaas events and increasing police manpower, but he's laughed off and sent on leave. But of course, Sinterklass arrives and brings horror with him.Directed by Dick Maas (The Lift, Amsterdamned), the film looks gorgeous, with a crushed black color palette and really intriguing angles. If a gore movie can be lush, then by all means, this is it. The scene where Sinterklass reveals himself to the children in the hospital, as well as a chase across the rooftops with Sinterklass on a horse, are just plain gorgeous. As we watch the evil saint fall through floor after floor of a building, then onto a police car, then stalk the hero, it really gets across just how frightening the villain is.Even watching the film in its native language, I was easily able to define the storytelling and stayed interested throughout. It was interesting to learn of another Christmas myth and then see the more malevolent side of it.

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.

I must say that it was with some excitement that I sat down to watch "Saint", because the cover looked so cool, and what I had read about the movie seemed promising as well.The whole twisted concept about Saint Niklas (yeah, I am going with the Dutch spelling here) in this movie was so bizarre and I loved that. It was really a good twist on a story that we all know and most of us love. And the story was well inked out on the screen.However, now having seen the movie I am left here with a somewhat hollow feeling, was that really it? It seemed like this movie wanted to do so much more, but restrictions were put on the director. The movie never really got to unfold its true potential. I, personally, was disappointed that you didn't get to see more of Saint Niklas, and when you did, it wasn't long enough shots. I would have loved to see more of him up close and personal, because the make-up looked really good. And also there was far too few deaths shown in the movie. It was like the director had to restrict himself to make the movie reach out to a bigger audience.Despite being in Dutch language, do not let that be a hindrance to watching the movie, and despite its shortcomings, "Saint" is an rather enjoyable movie. I just found it a shame that the movie didn't manage to acquire more than it did.The acting in the movie is good, and not being overly familiar with Dutch movies and TVs prior to this, then it was all new faces to me, and that was a glad chance of scenery.For a horror movie, "Saint" is fairly tame, and there are far better scare flicks out there. I think "Saint" is the type of movie that appeals to us that want a little bit more twisted and bizarre out of the whole Saint Niklas legend.

In an era of the successful Grindhouse revivals, The Asylum and the increasingly crazy J-spolitations, it would appear that schlock is on the rise...but "Saint" makes us remember that not all purposefully silly B- movies can be thoroughly entertaining. When over-the-top gore, crazy characters, hilarious dialog and preposterous plots are what make these movies work, "Saint" only nails the preposterous plot, concerning a murderous, zombified St. Nic going on a killing spree through Amsterdam. Typing this out, it sounds like it should be great fun but the fact is that "Saint" is not gory or funny enough to be a successful B-movie.