#255 -- 13 Days of Creepmas Day 9: Saint Nick (2010)

Rating: 4 / 5
Director: Dick Maas

This little gem comes from the Netherlands, where Christmas traditions are apparently very different from America. I thought that, maybe, their traditions really were different, so I did some research. But it turns out that they're actually pretty similar. So, all in the spirit of the movie, I guess.

In 1492 (about the same time that America was being discovered, by the way), Saint Nick was invading villages and robbing and killing the townspeople. He had a group of henchman who would climb down chimneys to rob people of their goodies. But the townspeople had had enough of it, and they decided to rid themselves of their adversaries. They killed all the henchman in gruesome ways, before setting fire to Saint Nick's ship, killing whoever they'd missed. All of this happened on December fifth, which apparently was Saint Nick's birthday. Now, they say that if there happens to be a full moon on December fifth (which happens every thirty-two years), Saint Nick will return to kill everyone that he could.

The story follows a group of high school kids getting ready to celebrate the holiday season. They all know the "myth" of Saint Niklas, but only a select few actually believe it. The first to encounter the deadly saint is Frank. He and his friends were on their way to a party of some sort, dressed as Saint Nick and his henchman, when the real deal showed up to kill all but one of them.

Frank, the survivor, was blamed for the murders and arrested. He was able to escape with the help of a rogue police officer (who had encountered Saint Nick himself as a child) who had a plan to kill the old jolly man. Armed with a boat load of explosives, they set out to get rid of Saint Nick for good.

The Good

I really enjoyed this movie, so I think just about everything was good. The production values were fantastic. It definitely looked good, and the effects were splendid. I was really impressed with the effects, and the kill scenes were all amazing. The story of Saint Nick was interesting as well. When he and his henchman returned to Amsterdam, they still look as they did when they were killed: all burnt up disfigured. They practically looked like zombies, and the make-up was wonderful in that area as well. He was also very menacing and scary, and seeing him riding his beautiful white horse across rooftops was a wonderful sight to behold. The horse, as well, was somewhat zombie-like. The attacks it had endure were still plain on its body, making it quite menacing--though it was still very beautiful. Saint Niklas' weapon of choice was his staff, a long golden thing with a curly Q on top, which apparently had blades woven into it. He used it quite effectively, and it was a good weapon to use for decapitation purposes. The movie was definitely gruesome and bloody, something that I honestly wasn't expecting.

The Bad

I can't really say much about the actors in the movie, since it was dubbed in English and I couldn't tell much about their performances. The dubbing actors were not very good, though. Eventually, I started watching the real actors' faces, and I think I can say that they did a good job, but I can't be certain. I wish I could have seen it in its original language with subtitles, so I could get a real feel for the characters, rather than just bad voice-overs. But even as it is, I can deal with it. I really enjoyed the movie, bad dubbing or not.


So today's Creepmas entry was definitely better than the last.

I'd had this saved on Netflix for a while, waiting to watch it during Creepmas. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I thought the cover looked neat. I'm glad I finally got to watch it, and I found it highly entertaining. My suggestion to you is that, if you can, you should watch it with subtitles rather than dubbing. But if, like me, it's only available to you this way, you'll still enjoy it. I'd call this one of the better Christmas horror movies there are, and it should definitely be on your Creepmas watch list.