A traumatised man provides an overnight watch for a recently deceased member of his Orthodox Jewish community and finds himself against a sinister entity.
Flawed but suspenseful and compelling low-budget horror. Right off the bat, tracking and dolly shots, eerie music, and offscreen noises set the foundation for a decent confined supernatural horror. Feature debut for writer/director Keith Thomas, who does an excellent job with the camera and maintains a great pace and rhythm of action, suspense, and thrill throughout the film. He also holds an outstanding balance between the plot’s horror (the entity’s threat) and the subplot’s drama (the hero’s past suffering). In front of the camera, Dave Davis supports Thomas’ vision and brings to life that troubled character who struggles with the burdens of the past, including his fears and traumas. While the film went largely under the radar, The Vigil has an enormously strong suit. The way Thomas has written and directed it, even though it predominantly takes place in just a house, provokes the viewer’s thoughts.
The Vigil raises questions that contradict what we know or think we know, making us question what we believe and what we think we believe in. While watching, consider Yakov’s past and how this malevolent entity feeds off his fears. Then, as the story escalates and climaxes, think of the effect(s) that has on him. Ultimately, when the end credits start scrolling down, think…
- Are we to accept that malevolent forces can take over us and tear our lives apart?
- Respectively, are there benevolent forces that guide us through life and support us?
- Is our brain creating those forces – God, gods, demons, and spirits?
- Is our brain weak enough to create those entities, or is it too strong to manifest mental illness in such a manner?
- Is it despair, guilt and paranoia that have taken the wheel in life, or is it hope, sheer will and pronoia? Also, do we choose these feelings, or are they imposed on us?
I am sure you can come up with more questions and thoughts on it, but in the end, ask yourselves: How many of these questions can I honestly answer? Regardless, the power of cinema is there to audiovisually philosophise life and death, amongst other things, offering a unique point of view.
Thanks for reading!
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