Label: IFC Midnight
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 89 Minutes
Audio: English with Yiddish DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Keith Thomas
Cast: Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig, Ronald Cohen, Lynn Cohen
Jewish religious horror The Vigil (2021) is a spooky creep-fest that dabbles in ancient Jewish lore with elements of demonology and supernatural chills, set in Brooklyn’s Borough Park where we find an out-of-work young man named Yakov (Dave Davis, Logan). He's an out-of-practice Orthodox Jew who has lost his faith, whom reluctantly accepts an offer from his former rabbi (Menashe Lustig), who throws some cash his way, to be an overnight shomer - which is the Jewish practice of watching and praying over the body of a deceased community member. While stayomg the night at the home of the deceased, a Mr. Litvak's (Ronald Cohen), Yakov must contend with the his widow (Lynn Cohen) who is suffering from the effects of dementia. As the night wears on Yakov experiences
creepy occurrences which at first manifests as flickering lights and then onto receiving weird videos of himself sleeping in the house, then onto watching super-8 home video's of the deceased and his wife, explaining that Mr. Litvak has been haunted by a Mazzik, a malevolent spirit along the lines of a Dybbuk that bonds to people who are wounded or broken in spirit. With Litvak's passing it seems the malevolent spirit is now looking for a new host, and Yakov, having suffered a loss that shook his faith, looks like a good candidate. Super-creepy, well-shot and tense from start to finish this is a gem of haunter with an somewhat ambiguous ending that's not so ambiguous but also doesn't button things up too tight, which I loved. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork and no extras, but sadly the only extras are a trailer and an audio-descriptive track. A solid feature film debut from director Keith Thomas, looking forward to his next film, a new adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter.
