The frights provided in the new horror film The Vigil from first time writer-director Keith Thomas are not altogether unfamiliar, but they are executed with a unique enough spin that fans of the genre should find it a worthy endeavor. Jewish superstitions filled with golems and the like have been a cause for worry for many Orthodox people of faith for centuries, but curiously the horror genre has not gone all-in on mining the horror of this angst-riddled faith for the silver screen as much as they probably could have. Perhaps those in power believe this perspective to be too limited to be widely relatable? Well, I would counter that most Americans are not personally invested in the onryō and The Grudge was a smash hit. Contained to one unsettling night, The Vigil tells a very specific story of a young man estranged from the Orthodox Jewish community who agrees to be a “shomer,” the ritualistic guardian who looks after a dead body over the course of one night. Through his experiences, the film explores how traumas of the past linger and manifest in unbelievable ways.
Yakov (Dave Davis) is first seen at the tail-end of an informal support group for young Hasids who have abandoned their faith. Even those audience members without the background context to understand the ramifications of such acts are given the context clues to help them along. Each one of these individuals reached a point where they felt it was better to live outside of their insular world of faith than be restricted by life under Orthodox rule. The discussions over uneasy adjustments to secular life and how woefully unprepared their education made them for the “real world” is fascinating enough to warrant a feature film dedicated entirely to that, but for more of that type of content I would recommend checking out Unorthodox on Netflix. Most are in a financial bind, and this is the perfect bargaining chip for Yakov’s former rabbi (Menashe Lustig) to approach him to act as a shomer after the first one dropped out from fright. After Yakov makes the money worth his while, he agrees to the job and meets Mrs. Litvak (Lynn Cohen), a women stricken with Alzheimer’s whose husband, a Holocaust survivor, passed away earlier in the day.
This feature film makes great use out of its limited setting; outside of the opening meeting and a couple of visits to the street, all of the building horror happens within the Litvak house. It is fascinating how a simple thing such as a corpse with a white sheet draped over it can be the perfect uneasy note to sustain the suspense throughout the night. The movie indulges in some of your standard tropes; there are flickering lights and the apparent sudden movement with the confines of shadows. One could also criticize the overindulgence in loud splashes of sound to send your pulse racing. Yet it would be unfair to say that most of these jump-scares are not earned. There is rarely a thrill provided that does not have some actual malice behind it in some form. There are demons afoot, both the dybbuk that is tied to the body of Mr. Litvak as well as his PTSD stemming from a hate-crime that Yakov experienced along with his younger brother. Thomas finds an effective way to weave in the experience of being Jewish and the history that comes with that into modern nightmare fuel.
As the efficiently-paced film surges towards the conclusion, the specificity of the situation lessens somewhat as you reach past the questions over whether some of this could be in Yakov’s head towards something more formulaic. One of the last key unsettling moments is when his therapist returns a call concerning the odd visions he has been seeing and the conversation takes an eerie turn. The way in which a final confrontation is shown in a visual sense is reminiscent of other films but it executed skillfully enough to yield the desired effects here. With Davis and the great Lynn Cohen, there is no shortage of talent on screen to give this story the necessary gravitas. It does not quite deliver on all of the promise of its premise, but those looking for thrills outside of the typical Hollywood fare should find it with a bit more depth here.
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Scream Factory with a gorgeous 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film well. The movie itself has a very subdued color palette that was never going to make this a disc you turn to for bursts of color, but there is a great amount of detail and clarity throughout the entire presentation. The fine detail that is detectable on faces is quite remarkable. Roaming shots remain stable and avoid any blurring or banding. For a movie that relies on darkness to build tension, it is important to have deep black levels, which this thankfully does. Objects hold up very well in the shadows and retain their depth. There is no damage, black crush or digital noise detectable in this transfer. This is a supremely impressive transfer from Scream Factory that allows this brand new film to thrive at a high bit rate and deliver a problem-free viewing experience.
Audio Quality
The Night comes to Blu-Ray with an outstanding DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The movie is mostly on the quiet side with bursts of activity when Yakov is being terrorized. The low end of the track is especially active during these moments with a bit of wall shaking happening. The dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the creepy score where nothing gets lost in the track. Surround channels get some nice activity during the numerous scenes in the room where sounds are coming from unknown origins. This is a film that is immensely satisfying from a sound design perspective. The directionality of this track is on point with sounds coming from all of the appropriate places. This track is quite powerful, and will be appreciated by horror fans who pick up this disc.
Special Features
- Trailer: A very effective two-minute trailer that gives you a nice taste of what is in store without spoiling everything.
Final Thoughts
The Vigil is an effective horror film from the perspective of the Jewish experience which allows the narrative to go into specific, unique directions. The scares can occasionally veer a bit too much into familiar territory, but overall the point-of-view and performances keep this one a creepy, engrossing time. Scream Factory has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation but not much in the way of special features. This should appeal to most horror fans to one degree or another. Recommended
The Vigil is currently available to own on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
