Saint [DVD]

I saw this film in Dutch at Kinepolis in Leuven when it first came out in 2010 and absolutely LOVED it. Admittedly, I like scary movies - if you don't, it's probably not for you - and I was desperate to see this film as soon as I saw the trailer. It's set in Amsterdam and is based on the idea that "Sinterklaas" (Dutch Santa Claus, more St Nicholas than Father Christmas) was not actually a nice guy who loved children but a nasty one who stole them as well as terrorising innocent villagers. His victims eventually turned on him and burnt him and his henchmen to death; now, every time there is a full moon on 5th December, the Eve of St. Nicholas' Day, he comes back to kill as many people as possible. The action is set on 5th December, as a cop whose entire family were killed by the "Saint" (Huub Stapel) last time he appeared tries to stop him, aided by Frank (Egbert-Jan Weeber), a student who has been mistakenly arrested on suspicion of some of the murders. There are some superbly gruesome murders (including one by sharpened crozier!) plus an outrageous scene in which the "Saint" mounted on his white horse gallops along the rooftops of Amsterdam whilst the police follow in a car, trying to shoot him out of the window! It's bloody in places but there's a fabulous black humour running through the whole thing.The film is in Dutch with English subtitles, which personally I like, as the cast have distinctive voices which it would be a shame to dub over, plus the story is set in Holland of course.

I just want to put something straight. This is not Santa Claus.Sint Nikolaas is a Dutch tradition where a man wearing a red saint hat and red robe lined with golden lace gives children gifts. He's aided in this by having lots of Pieten (white men painted as black men in colorful clothing and feathers in their caps) who climb down chimneys to leave gifts in children's shoes. He also has a white horse which he rides on rooftops. He caries a golden staff and has a big book which tells him if you've been good or bad. If you've been bad the Pieten take you away to Spain in a sack. (Legend has it he lives in Spain and only comes over to give away gifts on his own birthday). Then on the 5th of December it's pakjesavond (meaning gifts night) when everybody gets gifts from Sinterklaas (as he's more commonly known). It's very similar to Santa Clause, but not quite. Dutch children love December because they always get loads of gifts at the beginning and at the end of the month.So much for the legend what about the film?I love the film. Finally a worth wile Dutch slasher movie after Amsterdamned.There are funny moments, scary moments and blood curling moments. But never over the top.Story is that a murderous Sinterklaas comes around every time there is a full moon on December 5th. Which is every couple of decades (there's a little mistake in the film calling out two different time frames, but nothing very irritating).Good views of Amsterdam at night and generally well done (CGI was of good quality too). I recommend this movie if you like the genre. It's in Dutch with English subtitles but that's never bothered me when it was the other way around.I remember all the fuss when the movie came out. Parents thought the posters of the skull faced Sinterklaas hanging on billboards everywhere was way too scary for the children and tried to get them banned. I think it only made more people wanting to see the movie.

5th December 1492, a former bishop named Niklas leads his gang into a village where they slaughter half of the population. The remaining villagers decide they've had enough of Niklas and his gang, so they row out to their ship and set it on fire, killing everyone on board. 5th December 1968, four children are singing by the fireplace when their father hears a noise outside. He sends his oldest son called Goert out to go check on the pigs, when he returns from the barn, he spots a figure walking across their roof and a man on a horse carrying a staff. He enters his house and discovers a bloodbath, and his younger siblings have gone. Amsterdam, present day. The tales told of Niklas and his gang have now come to be believed as nothing but a fairytale that people tell to their children, he's now known at Sinterklaas. Goert is now a police officer and is convinced that the full moon on December 5th will signal the return of Niklas and his gang, his belief in this happening lands him in trouble with his superior and he's put on leave for the rest of December. Just as Goert predicted, Niklas returns and they begin to slaughter the citizens of Amsterdam. A student called Frank survives an attack and eventually bumps into Goert, and the two of them try and put an end to the curse once and for all.Unlike most American horror films that have really unlikeable "teenagers" playing major roles, the young characters in Saint are reasonably likeable. Even though they're young and attractive, there's no blinding white teeth, washboard abs and silicone breasts, you can actually relate to these kids. Frank is played quite well by Egbert Jan Weeber, if the film has a main star then he's probably it. He was in his late twenties when he made Saint, I didn't find it at all distracting as I love '80s slasher films where people in their twenties regularly played teenagers. Bert Luppes is good as Goert, there's a hilarious scene near the beginning of the film where he enters the police station, spots a wrapped up box on his table and proceeds to shoot it five times. I know he's worried about Niklas coming back to continue the murder spree, but it's safe to assume he's not in the box. Caro Lenssen plays Frank's love interest, she's very pretty and puts in a good performance, she was also in her mid twenties. Huub Stapel is okay as Niklas, he just doesn't really get that much to do and I felt he was slightly wasted in the role. It was nice to see him though, as he's appeared in most of Dick Maas' Dutch films, most notably in Amsterdamned and the Flodder films.Saint was a welcome return to horror for Dick Maas, a genre he had success with in the '80s with De Lift and Amsterdamned. He finally came to America and made two movies, Do Not Disturb and a remake of his own film De Lift called Down. I thought they were both okay, but they weren't very successful and he eventually returned to Holland. I thought Saint was by far his best film since Amsterdamned in '88, and it seems that he's another director who seems to make far better films back home than in America. The makeup effects on Niklas and his gang are well done, like another reviewer pointed out, they're very similar to the pirates in John Carpenter's The Fog. There's quite a few good gore moments, but nothing that really stands out. There's a good rooftop chase sequence with Niklas leaping from roof to roof on his horse, despite the CGI being a little too obvious here and there. Dick Maas also provides the music for the film as he always does, it sets the tone quite nicely.The picture quality is very good, it's quite sharp and detailed. It's a Dutch film so it has English subtitles. Sadly there are no extras on the disc at all, there's just the film itself and scene selection which was disappointing. I was having a little trouble deciding whether to give the film three stars or four, the complete lack of extras pretty much made my mind up. Saint is exactly what I expected it to be, a festive horror film with black comedy running through it. If you've seen any of Dick Maas' other horror/thrillers you'll find they all have comedy in them. Saint certainly isn't a great film, it isn't even Dick Maas' best film, but it is an extremely enjoyable, often funny, sometimes gory, '80s throwback that works a lot better than the similar US film, Santa's Slay. I really did enjoy Saint, and with a runtime of just over 80 minutes, it never gets boring. If there's a Dick Maas film you should watch, you should really go for the excellent Amsterdamned, but Saint is just about the next best.

Oh how I love a good murderous Santa film.Got this because it was cheap as hell and didn't realise it was Dutch or subtitled (which is not a problem I just have to be in the right frame of mind to watch them).Made by Dick Maas who made the equally good thriller Amsterdamned.

While the film itself was great. I didn't feel that this listing made it clear enough that this version only came with French or Austrian subtitles. I had to get it from somewhere else in the end as I speak (and can read) neither.

good movie and fast delivery

Buena muy entretenida sonido buena imagen también y sangrienta

J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce film, c'est une bonne surprise découverte à Noël!

Diese niederländische Produktion bietet einen völlig neuen Aspekt zu "Santa Claus" oder "Sinterklaas".Der bisher als Sinnbild der Gutmütigkeit angesehene Bischof ist nach der dortigen Darstellung bereits in früheren Zeiten vom Glauben abgefallen und zieht zu bestimmten wiederkehrenden Zeiten mit einer Bande von untoten Piraten raubend und mordend von der niederländischen Küste ins Innere des Landes um dort schlimme Verwüstungen anzurichten.Den Ungeheuern ist mit herkömmlichen Mitteln nicht beizukommen und in der Vergangenheit haben die Behörden und Autoritäten die Vorkommnisse immer totgeschwiegen oder mit "natürlichen" Ereignissen erklärt.Doch nun geht es zur Sache .........Eine interessante neue Sichtweise des Umgangs mit alten Gewohnheiten und ein spannender Horrorfilm dazu.

Film Belge un peu fauché mais bien réalisé, j'ai bien aimé l'ambiance, le mythe de Saint-Nicolas revisité, à voir !