The Vigil

PG-13

2/26/20211h 28m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Say your prayers ~

Overview:

A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity.

Director:

Keith Thomas

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$1,868,659.00

Key words:

new york city
haunted house
evil spirit
spirit
demon
ghost
jewish
mazzikin

Cast

Dave Davis

~ as ~

Yakov Ronen

Lynn Cohen

~ as ~

Mrs. Litvak

Menashe Lustig

~ as ~

Reb Shulem

Malky Goldman

~ as ~

Sarah

Fred Melamed

~ as ~

Dr. Kohlberg

Nati Rabinowitz

~ as ~

Lane

Moshe Lobel

~ as ~

Lazer

Spencer Zender

~ as ~

Eric

Dun Laskey

~ as ~

Young Rubin Litvak

Hershy Fishman

~ as ~

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

SWITCH.
Written 4 year(s) ago
5
'The Vigil' explores a dark part of history via some fascinating mythology that is underutilised in modern cinema. It's a shame that an interesting concept for supernatural thriller falls victim to the influence of lazy modern horror filmmaking tropes and clichés.
- Jake Watt
Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-vigil-a-rare-excursion-into-yiddish-horror
CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
6
I will admit to feeling just a little uneasy as I walked back to the car after watching this debut from Keith Thomas at 11pm. Dave Davis is "Yakov" who is a bit down on his luck, on some pretty heavy medication, and struggling to get back on track after a fairly traumatic event from his past. A rabbi asks him if will act as a "Shomer" - a person who sits with the deceased to recite prayers and generally ward off any evil before burial. As he watches over the body, the usual spooky things start to happen - lights flicker; things go bump etc; and on that score it's all a pretty routine horror flick; but as his fears start to build, he begins to confront his own demons as much as he must the predatory "Mazzik" that feeds from his fears. Save for a few short appearances from the widow - Lynn Cohen, it's essentially a single-hander and Davis does an OK job - aided by the drearily-lit room and some suitably tense - if frequently over-the-top musical accompaniment. It's not exactly scary - but it's still a decent effort based on a source of legend rarely exploited by Hollywood. Best seen late at night when it's dark outside, I'd say...