Culturally not being very well acquainted with Saint Nicholas other than the globally popular image of Santa Claus and the fact that the historical figure behind it had lived in Turkey in ancient times, I was very much intrigued by this movie. Unfortunately, the prologue of the movie, which sets the background for the evil St. Nicholas, was very succinct -and confusing for international audiences (why the Middle Ages setting?, what's the Spanish connection?), and, I guess not only for non-Christians but for anyone outside the local audience of Holland. I mean since apparently St.Nicholas of Holland itself is somewhat different than Santa Claus, it was difficult to understand how much the filmmakers themselves had modified Santa Claus and how much of this difference stemmed from the Dutch cultural understanding of St.Nicholas as distinct from Santa Claus and how much from the filmmakers' own fiction-making. Anyway, I had to do some online research after-wards to put the film's narrative in context and I am not complaining in that regard. As a horror movie, the first half was somewhat mediocre other than the basic novelty of introducing a murderous Santa Claus in a conventional Halloween-esque slasher narrative. Yet, things got more interesting in the second half as unfolding events moved away from baby-sitting female characters in their homes at night et al. In the second half, we were offered some great and amazing visuals as St. Nicholas on horseback riding atop rooftops! The ancient ship setting at the old harbor at the finale was also nice. All in all, I would say this is a movie worth a look if you do not set your expectations very high.
