A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity, in writer-director Keith Thomas' electrifying feature... Read allA man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity, in writer-director Keith Thomas' electrifying feature debut.A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity, in writer-director Keith Thomas' electrifying feature debut.
- Awards
- 3 nominations
- Young Rubin Litvak
- (as Dun Lusky)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe vigil referenced in the title is Shemira, a Jewish custom in which a guardian, usually a relative or close friend, spends the night in the same room as the recently deceased before a morning funeral. The guardian spends the night standing and reading the Torah, to prevent Satan from possessing the deceased or the guardian.
- Quotes
Yakov Ronen: So, Shulem, who is the deceased?
Reb Shulem: He's Rubin Litvak, did you know him?
Yakov Ronen: No.
Reb Shulem: He was a good man, a little weird. He was a Holocaust survivor who made it through the war, but lost his entire family there. After the war, he started a family here, but then he became a recluse, estranged from his kids and grandchildren. He hadn't left his home in years, it's a really sad story.
Yakov Ronen: I never saw him out.
Reb Shulem: He used to say that whenever he stepped out of his house it was like he was in absolute agony.
Yakov Ronen: And the other Shomer, why was he leaving?
Reb Shulem: The other Shomer just ran out, I trusted him, he's family, but he left the job because he was afraid.
Yakov Ronen: Afraid?
Reb Shulem: That's what he said.
Yakov Ronen: What was he afraid of?
The film is well paced. It starts out with the usual character introductions and some exposition, but then once we get to the house where the action is due to take place the film kicks into gear pretty quickly and doesn't relent for a long while. The middle of this film is by far the strongest third. There are some good scares and a little mystery element as to exactly what is going on.
Sadly the ending of 'The Vigil' let the film down in my opinion. It was very "meh" and left the film as a very forgettable experience unfortunately. Playing it safe when it comes to endings is never the way to go for my liking. However, even though it ends on a bit of a flat note there is enough quality horror through the middle to make this worth a watch. It will probably be a film you will enjoy the most if your expectations aren't too high however.
- jtindahouse
- Jul 26, 2020
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ölü Nöbeti
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $50,439
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $23,182
- Feb 28, 2021
- Gross worldwide
- $1,378,493
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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