A couple of years ago during our first visit to Weekend of Horrors in Bottrop we spent one evening watching a screener of Sint, the latest movie from Dutch director Dick Maas. I even think we saw it dubbed to English, terrible - I know, but that didn't stop us from enjoying this fucker to the max. I've only seen two other movies from Maas, The Lift (and yes, I also saw his own remake of that one, Down) and of course Amsterdamned - both highly original, quirky and original horror/thrillers with their own unique touch. And with my dislike for everything Christmas is always nice to see movies who bashes this silly holiday and does it with style. Sint delivers here.
Everytime year around Christmas in Netherlands Sinterklaas ( Saint Nicholas) and his small army of helpers - the Zwarte Piets. What's a big no-no to talk about is that 36 years ago Sinterklaas came, the 5th of December, and killed hundreds of hundreds of people. A government cover-up kept this a secret, but now it's time again... and the only survivor from the massacre is now an old, bitter, alcoholic cop who once a years becomes a nervous wreck! But this year he's the only one who knows how to defend himself when Sinterklaas comes back with his helpers, ready to slaughter everyone in sight!
There's actually a lot more story to it and I probably didn't even got the Sinterklaas thing right, but what I do know is that Sint (aka Saint) is one helluva fun movie. I really don't understand why Rare Exports (who I haven't seen) got all the buzz when I'm pretty sure Sint delivers a lot more gore, action, witty dialogue and a critical comment on the commercialism around this time of the year. Sint is a wonder of independent filmmaking, boasting a visual tour-de-force with sometimes cheap, but always impressive special effects - both digital and practical. There's enough gore and bloodshed to keep everyone happy (I'm thinking of giving my mother a copy!) and still feels fresh, lush and expensive.
Director Maas clearly understands the fine line between being silly and smart. What he does here - just like in his other movies - is to make something so absurd, so funny, but without taking aware the seriousness of the situation. People die. People suffer, there's nothing comedic (well, yeah, sometimes...) with death here. Another fine thing is the conspiracy feeling, the governement knows everything - they know that once every 36 years a horribly disfigured Sinterklaas comes back - from the sea - together with an army of demons to kill everyone. Only that premise makes it irresistible.
Before it was released Maas and the PR team created a fake anti-Sint campaign, which still is considered to be the truth over at Wikipedia: "While children are not permitted to see the film, parental concern arose over the film's poster, seen in the streets and in the lobbies of movie theaters. It shows Sinterklaas with a mutilated face and a malevolent look. Some people were concerned that this could be confusing and frightening for little children that still believe in Sinterklaas. A legal complaint was filed in October 2010, requesting the removal of all posters. In the subsequent court case, director Dick Maas argued that if parents could make their children believe that Sinterklaas existed they could also inform their children that the man on the poster was not the real Sinterklaas. The court ruled in favor of Maas, noting that the mutilated face was not visible enough on the poster, and rejected the complaint." Brilliant!
This is one of those few super-creative films that actually lives up to its premise. I've seen several other very ambitious Christmas-themed genre movies recently, but this one still holds up as one of the best.
And don't be afraid, the R2UK DVD is the original language with English subs, just the way you must see it.
"I even think we saw it dubbed to English, terrible - I know, but that didn't stop us from enjoying this fucker to the max."
That´s the version I saw, never seen the dutch dubbed version.
"I've only seen two other movies from Maas"
I think this one and an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–1993)is the only thing I´ve seen by him so far.
"There's actually a lot more story to it and I probably didn't even got the Sinterklaas thing right,"
Yeah, there is historical background story here but let´s not spoil all the fun, shall we?
"I really don't understand why Rare Exports (who I haven't seen) got all the buzz when I'm pretty sure Sint delivers a lot more gore, action, witty dialogue and a critical comment on the commercialism around this time of the year."
Well, Sint (2010) is way more fun to watch but Rare Exports(2010) has some great moments and mocks christmas as well.
"Sint is a wonder of independent filmmaking, boasting a visual tour-de-force with sometimes cheap, but always impressive special effects - both digital and practical."
Maas really knew what he was doing, sure, there are some flaws here and there but the SFX is very good.
"Before it was released Maas and the PR team created a fake anti-Sint campaign, which still is considered to be the truth over at Wikipedia"
I didn´t know that.
"This is one of those few super-creative films that actually lives up to its premise. I've seen several other very ambitious Christmas-themed genre movies recently, but this one still holds up as one of the best."
It is surprisingly well made, they should make more christmas themed horror films, great review Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | December 21, 2013 at 14:16