The Vigil Breathes New Life into Religious Horror

The battle between God and the Devil is a tale as old as time. Priests battle the agents of evil and must try to confront their own faith. This is, of course, illustrated throughout the horror genre in films such as The Exorcist, The Omen and Rosemary’s Baby. Importantly, though, these stories are focused on the Catholic version of Heaven and Hell, complete with crucifixes and Hail Marys. But what about other religions? What does religious horror look like outside of the Christian faith? Writer/director Keith Thomas provides at least one answer to that question with his debut The Vigil, which is a classic demonic possession tale told through a Jewish lens.

Yakov (Dave Davis) has recently left the Hasidic Jew community after experiencing a trauma that dismantled his faith. He’s struggling to adapt to the outside world—particularly with money—and in the midst of this struggle, he’s approached to serve as a shomer, someone who watches over a body until it is buried. Typically a shomer is a family member, but in desperate circumstances, someone will be paid to serve this role. So Yakov takes up his post looking over the body of the deceased Mr. Litvak. But this isn’t going to be a night for easy money. As soon as Yakov settles in for his five-hour shift, strange things immediately start happening. He sees shadowy figures lurking in dark corners, he hears strange whispers and feels as if something is watching his every move. As the night progresses, he discovers that a mazzik, a type of demon, is haunting the home, its family and Yakov himself. It is feeding on them, using their grief and trauma to fuel its evil.

Central to the power of The Vigil is Davis’ performance as Yakov, created by both Davis’ performance and Thomas’ writing. The film has a short and sweet runtime of 90 minutes, and with that short amount of time, Davis and Thomas are able to create a complex character that has gone through a life of both love and despair. Davis’ frustrated and sorrow-filled face tells a story of a man who just wants to live a life that is his own. Paired with those facial expressions, Thomas’ script quickly and effectively showcases both Yakov’s naivety in the world of technology and women—as he literally Googles “how to talk to women”—and his strength, as he prepares to face off with the mazzik. This is not a generic horror character that blends into the wallpaper, but someone worth cheering for until the credits roll.

Supporting Davis is a phenomenal use of light that initially creates a sense of comfort that quickly shifts into terror. The Litvak home is dark, with colorful glass lamps casting small halos of light that only create small bubbles of safety throughout the first floor. It would almost feel cozy if there wasn’t a heavy atmosphere of dread trying to smother out those lamps. Thomas is utilizing every available technical element as efficiently as possible; there isn’t a reliance on professional lighting, but instead on what can be realistically accessed within an actual home. The culmination of the film’s lighting is reminiscent of the iconic scene in Hereditary where, as eyes adjust, horrors are revealed. Though familiar, the trick here is utilized with more movement and a well-timed jump scare that doesn’t make it feel like a direct copy.