Sam Panico 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.

Knoedelkop Sint (or Saint in English) seemed to me like a promising concept, especially as it is about one of the most popular traditions in both Belgium and the Netherlands. A murderous Sint Nikolaas, roaming around Amsterdam looking for people to kill: nothing deep, but it could make up a nice movie for a lazy afternoon. Nothing is less true than that. The acting is terrible, the camera-work isn't special, the storyline is non existent, make-up is average and the action scenes are only so so. The rooftop chase with our bishop is the most exciting part of the movie, but it lasts for about two minutes... And after the chase it's back to dragging yourself to the end of the movie, which even leaves room for a sequel (but it's not entirely clear whether this is intended as a final scary moment). Even with the knowledge that Sint was never intended as a deep philosophical movie but as pure action based horror, it doesn't come close to achieving it's goal. The combination of terrible and average scoring parameters stands in the way of even only the slightest hint of excitement and fear. Don't watch this, unless you're still interested in Sint Nikolaas...

srfcazemier What I was expecting when I went into this movie was exactly what I got. Bad stuff vs. good stuff: There are somethings that are essential to the plot that are never explained, problems which could have been overcome with relative ease, so that was a bummer. Also, there are three main plots, and one of them, if it wasn't there I wouldn't miss it. Lastly, it is a short movie. This wouldn't be a point of criticism if it wasn't for the fact that it does tend to stretch itself out, like it was looking for feature length. The good stuff? It still is a lot of fun, being both original as well as something else compared to other St. Nicholas movies, the acting is good with most characters, the dialog is pretty solid, it's funny when it wants to be and scary when it needs to be. If you are into the St. Nocholas myth, you can't miss this one.

billcr12 Writer-director Dick Maas needs to find another line of work, Saint is just awful in every possible respect. I don't know where to begin. The story is ridiculous, the acting is horrendous, and this looks like something from low budget Hollywood. I usually find foreign films to be deeper and much more interesting than American ones; not this time.What starts out in 1492 with St. Nicholas on a horse rampaging through a village with his evil henchmen and later continues in modern day Amsterdam has no structure or reason whatsoever. Every December fifth with a full moon causes old St. Nick and his merry-men to kill with sword and axes while dropping down chimneys.Mr. Maas has no idea how to create horror, satire, or drama with any style at all. A review on IMDb mentions the rumor of a sequel; this can't be true. No one in their right mind would agree to follow up this mess.Stay away from this non scary, unfunny waste of time at all costs.