Movie Breakdown: The Vigil (Noah)

Pre-Screening Stance:

I am mildly obsessed with the world of Hasidic Jews in New York City and I’m always game for a new horror flick. Thus, consider me cautiously excited.

Post-Screening Ramble:

The last year and change (read: quarantine times) have seen an outpouring of low to mid-level horror flicks that I imagine have been in various cans for various spells. The Vigil (directed by Keith Thomas) feels very much of this ilk. A former Hasidic Jew is paid to sit vigil for a recently deceased man, and it is not a spoiler to say that things get creepy real fast. Thomas does a solid job of layering the emotional demands of the the main character – Yakov (Dave Davis) – as he struggles to put distance between himself and his former religion – with the darkness that resides in the home (and possibly the body) he’s been tasked with watching. There’s a strong balance of jump scares and underlying creep (a scene where Davis discovers what’s going on in the basement still lingers) and there is very little time in the film where I wasn’t squinting my eyes at some unknown terror. The Vigil is a good film with decent performances and just enough atmosphere to keep you entertained, maybe even keep you guessing. Does it shatter walls of originality? No. You know exactly what you’re in for the moment this film starts. Does it matter? No. The film shocks and scares pleasantly on its way to a solid if not loose ending. And maybe, pleasant shocks and scares are what we need right now.

One Last Thought:

It’s kind of crazy how suited most horror is to pandemic filming. It’s usually a small cast and a single location with a script based on high concept. The Vigil isn’t (that I know) a pandemic flick, but it certainly could be.