The Vigil (2019 film)

The Vigil is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Keith Thomas in his feature directorial debut.[3] It stars Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig, Malky Goldman, Fred Melamed, Nati Rabinowitz and Lynn Cohen, and follows a young man who is tasked with keeping vigil over a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community, only to be targeted by a malevolent spirit known as a MAZZIK (Yiddish: דיבוק‎).[3][7] The film is executive produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner.

The Vigil
International release poster
Directed byKeith Thomas
Produced by
  • Raphael Margules
  • J.D. Lifshitz
  • Adam Margules
Written byKeith Thomas
Starring
Music byMichael Yezerski[1]
CinematographyZach Kuperstein[2]
Edited byBrett W. Bachman
Production
company
Distributed byIFC Midnight
Release date
  • September 2019 (2019-09) (TIFF)[3]
  • August 5, 2020 (2020-08-05) (International)[4]
  • February 26, 2021 (2021-02-26) (United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language
Box office$1.8 million[5][6]

The Vigil premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019.[3] The film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand in July 2020, before being released internationally on August 5, 2020. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 26, 2021, by IFC Midnight.

Cast
  • Dave Davis as Yakov Ronen
  • Menashe Lustig as Reb Shulem
  • Malky Goldman as Sarah
  • Fred Melamed as Dr. Kohlberg
  • Lynn Cohen as Mrs. Litvak
  • Ronald Cohen as Mr. Litvak
  • Nati Rabinowitz as Lane
  • Moshe Lobel as Lazer
  • Lea Kalisch as Adina
  • Efraim Miller as Hersch

Release

The Vigil premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019.[3]

In 2020, the film was acquired by Blumhouse Productions.[4] The film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom and Ireland in July 2020 through Vertigo Releasing.[8][9] It began screening in select theaters in New Zealand on July 16,[10] and was released internationally on August 5, 2020.[4] In October 2020, IFC Midnight acquired the film from Blumhouse and set it for a February 26, 2021, release.[11]

Reception

Box office

Upon release in the UK and Ireland, The Vigil grossed £30,302 ($39,500 USD) from 97 sites over its opening weekend.[12]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Consistently clever and creepy, The Vigil mines richly atmospheric supernatural horror from a deep well of religious traditions."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Variety's Dennis Harvey gave the film a mostly positive review, calling it an "effectively creepy, small-scale chiller that does a nice job eking suspense from its simple story and limited setting."[1] Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "B", praising Davis's performance and writing that, "even as The Vigil settles into a familiar routine, it tackles that task with a polished, at times even elegant approach to a haunted house formula."[2] Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that writer-director Keith Thomas "keeps the tension high throughout most of the movie, even if some of his scare tactics can feel redundant", and that he "transforms Orthodox culture into gory material for a slightly elevated horror flick".[3]

Joe Lipsett of Bloody Disgusting wrote that "The Vigil doesn't exactly break the mould of demonic spirit films, though its sound design, lighting and lead performance certainly make it a solid entry."[7] However, Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film a mostly negative review, writing: "Sadly, director Keith Thomas doesn't trust his own themes or visual sense, swallowing his entire film up in abrasive sound design and a reliance on jump scares."[15]

References
  1. Harvey, Dennis (September 10, 2019). "Toronto Film Review: The Vigil". Variety. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  2. Kohn, Eric (September 12, 2019). "The Vigil Review: The Conjuring With an Orthodox Jewish Twist That Could Birth a Franchise". IndieWire. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  3. Mintzer, Jordan (September 12, 2019). "The Vigil: Film Review | TIFF 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  4. Miska, Brad (June 17, 2020). "The Vigil Gets a Chilling International Poster". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  5. "The Vigil (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  6. "The Vigil (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  7. Lipsett, Joe (September 13, 2019). "[TIFF Review] 'The Vigil' Introduces a New Kind of Jewish Horror". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  8. Miska, Brad (June 29, 2020). "UK Audiences Can Attend a Haunted 'Vigil' In Theaters This July". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. Squires, John (July 6, 2020). "A Man Spends a Terrifying Night Alone With a Dead Body in Blumhouse's 'The Vigil' [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  10. Croot, James (July 15, 2020). "The Vigil: A 'horrorific' triumph of sustained tension and taut storytelling". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 7, 2020). "IFC Midnight Picks Up Supernatural Horror Movie 'The Vigil' From Blumhouse". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  12. Ramachandran, Naman (August 4, 2020). "Russell Crowe's 'Unhinged' Tops Box Office as U.K., Ireland Limp Back to Normal". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  13. "The Vigil (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  14. "The Vigil Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  15. Tallerico, Brian (September 13, 2019). "TIFF 2019: The Vigil, First Love, The Vast of Night". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
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