The Vigil

It is good to see a supernatural horror film constructed around something other than Christian conceptions of evil, however the movie is still fairly predictable with jump scares in all of the places you would expect.

May not quite be an eventful haunting, the expected surveillance pleasantly diverts and dives into a particular spiritual lore with genuinely clever manifestations tuning up the chills, also benefiting from the committed performances. (B+)

Great movie, not sure why such low score from audience it has some spiritual depth and good messages with a solid resolution. Unique setting as well with a reliance on pure horror instead of jump scares.

"The Vigil" is neither good nor bad. The cinematography is claustrophobic, the editing is precise, and the soundtrack builds momentum. But the mazzik or monster – weak and underwhelming – doesn't match the protagonist's intensity and vulnerability. Dave Davis gives a strong performance as Yakov who house-sits for a corpse for five hours as a "shomer" while the underutilized creepy widow fades in-&-out of the story.

I really liked THE VIGIL, and it isn't because of any amazing plot or ground-breaking filmmaking. What I liked (at least, after it was over) was that the film was amazingly creepy and tense. I felt stress through almost the entire movie. Sustained, unrelieved tension. And when it was over (and I smiled as the tension finally released itself), I immediately realized what a rare experience I'd had. When I watch a "horror" movie, I look for either a gripping story with engaging characters, or at best, I hope to be "scared." THE VIGIL was scary. Fun! This is a short film, and it gets down to business quickly. We meet a young man named Yakov (the really tremendous Dave Davis), who is spending time with a support group for adults who have "escaped" their oppressive Hasidic community. He's clearly still struggling with living in the real world. A girl is interested in him, and just his complete inability to relate to her shows us just how "stunted" he is (at least as it relates to the broader world; I am not going to cast judgement on the Hasidic Jewish community, since I know very little). And he's struggling to make a living. So when one of his old rabbi's stops him on the street with an offer to make some money, he finds himself drawn in. He's being paid to sit Vigil for a recently deceased old man. In Jewish/Hasidic tradition, the deceased needs to be watched over for a day, and usually this is done by family and friends. But it's not unheard of to pay for the service, and Yakov strikes a bargain to spend the night with this old man, alone in the house, except for the old man's dementia ridden widow. One thing great about the film is that writer/director Keith Thomas (an amazing feature film debut!) doesn't mess around. These establishing scenes happen pretty quickly, just enough to help us know Yakov enough to have sympathy for him; to be ready to root for him. Within moments of his arrival, on a dark night in a dark house, weird stuff starts happening. I don't want to share too many details. Suffice it to say that the old man had some pretty big secrets, that his wife isn't quite as far-gone as originally presented, and that Yakov is in for a helluva a night in the company of some pretty deep malevolence. The plot is simple. The secrets revealed come in small doses, but it's easy to put the pieces together. You don't say "what was that" at the end. It's pretty clear. It's just tense and creepy and, yes, scary for almost its entire duration. Davis gives a tremendous performance; much of the success of the film hinges on him. He brings decency to his role, and we can almost palpably feel his fear and his courage. It's a movie about redemption, and it's simply very, very good. If you like your horror low-key but creepy, look no further than this little gem.

A well-produced Horror flick with real heart that has the scary/creepy things in the best ways.

This is an underrated gem of horror. The main actor really sold it for me. Every moment, I could feel the fear and anxiety building during certain scenes. He was able to suspend my disbelief that he was an actor playing just another horror role lead. The premise and setup was interesting too. A breath of fresh air to have insight into Hasidic religion as opposed to the Christian demon possession movies we are already used to.

I like the premise, but it is never the least bit creepy.

Strong debut from director Keith Thomas who uses Jewish folklore, faith & personal grief to make a generally creepy film. The lack of light & the sound helps to build a number of tense moments.

The first half of the movie really starts out strong, lots of tension, creepy visuals, the works. Unfortunately, during the last 30 minutes of the movie, it kinda falls apart; the quality of practical and special effects drops dramatically (seriously, "hands reaching out behind sheets for 5 minutes" is the sort of thing you expect to see in a theme park dark ride, not a movie), and the finale is downright corny by comparison to the setup.