Plot – A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity
Director – Keith Thomas
Starring – Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig, Lynn Cohen
Genre – Horror
Released – 2020
I wasn’t expecting my first film at the cinema in 5 months to be a Jewish horror film, but 2020 has been a strange year and not all surprises are bad ones, after all The Vigil turned out to be a decidedly entertaining directorial debut from Keith Thomas.
While it’s true to say the plot follows a familiar pattern, Thomas’s use of Jewish folklore and complexities of leaving the Orthodox community to craft a wonderfully creepy small-scape supernatural horror that keeps the tension and suspense at a maximum, anchored by a captivating central performance of Dave Davis. ★★★★☆