Horror Movie Review: The Vigil
Spoiler-Free Section.
The Vigil Plot: A Jewish man who has recently left his Orthodox sect is hired to take part in a Jewish tradition called, Shemira; A service in which a person (Shomer) is tasked to watch over a body, guarding it against evil spirits, before it is taken to its proper burial. After watching the body for a few hours, Yakov soon finds that this simple task will not be as easy as sitting in a chair and reading until morning.
The story is excellent, the acting is top-notch, the directing is superb, and the scares are, well, very scary.
This is the first feature film by writer/director Keith Thomas, but since making The Vigil he has been tapped to direct the upcoming remake of Firestarter, starring Zac Efron.
Now, on to why I think The Vigil may be a perfect horror movie.
This film has large tones of the Jewish religion but does not hit you over the head with it. Being born and raised Jewish, I understood the elements of lore. My shiksa wife, on the other hand, had to lean over a couple of times and ask me to clarify a few moments. At first, I wished that they would have explained a few things a little more for non-Jewish viewers, but then I recalled the hundreds of horror movies involving churches, priests, crosses, and rituals I have never heard of. So, I think we are all good here.
Watch the trailer here.
Streaming: Hulu and rental
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I highly advise not reading this next section until you have watched The Vigil.
How many times have you watched a movie where someone sees something terrifying, and while you are yelling at the screen for them to run the heck out of the house, they just go back to watching TV? The demon Mazzik taunts Yakov throughout the night while on duty as a Shomer and The Vigil gives our protagonist multiple reasons to stay in the house. It is pretty quickly set up that he has a past of having hallucinations. So when he starts to experience the horrors inside the house, instead of rubbing his eyes and going, “Huh? That’s weird. Oh well.” He thinks he is having a breakdown and calls his psychiatrist. If I saw a body scraping its way through the kitchen, there are only two conclusions; I have lost my mind, or this house is haunted!
When Yakov does finally realize something evil is present, he leaves. Smart thinking, until the evil presence has other ideas. Boom! Reason two why he can not leave this house of nightmares. All of that allows us to feel the terror and suspense without getting taken out of the movie by the character making nonsensical moves. We also get a nice and easy backstory. There are flashbacks to an incident in Yakov’s past where his little brother was killed and the guilt surrounding what happened leads to A: sets up his mental health issues, and B: sets him up for the growth he needs to have.
In Conclusion
I was afraid the movie was going to end with Yakov going back to his Orthodox ways. I was very satisfied with him continuing on his own path and growing from the experience. He seemed to learn that he can still have faith while not being forced into someone else’s version of it. There is also a fantastic acting moment when Yakov is leaving the house freely, and you can see the physical release of all of the guilt and torment he has built up. The demon Mazzik feeds off pain and torment. He ends up being a metaphor for letting go of guilt and being able to move on.
And that, your honor, is why I think The Vigil may be a perfect horror movie.
What did you think? Comment below and let us know!
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