Dir. Keith Thomas | Now Streaming On: Hulu | Rating: 2/5

The Vigil was a highly anticipated release for me. I may have gotten ahead of myself, but I found myself disappointed. The rich history and critical themes are present but there is something empty about this project.⁠
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The core of The Vigil is a commentary on the cycle of trauma. In a similar vein to The Babadook, we see trauma materialize in the form of a malevolent entity, in The Vigil – a Mazzik. The audience sees grief and trauma ripple through the cast, including the death of Holocaust survivor Rubin, the mental decline of his widow, and Yakov grappling with a horrible accident. This is such an important theme to consider, especially in relation to the generational and systematic trauma of the Jewish people. That makes it particularly disheartening that this storytelling falls flat. ⁠
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Since this story takes place across one night in one house, the atmosphere of the film feels stifling and not in a tactful thematic way. The scares are lost in dragging shots of absolutely nothing. We struggle to unravel what trauma Yakov is holding and how it all connects. What is particularly jarring is that throughout the night, Yakov receives texts, phone calls, and Facetimes. It’s a cliché style choice that ruins the serious nature of the material. I know this is supposed to be a poke at how disconnected Yakov is to millennial culture from his time in the Orthodox community, but it just doesn’t land. ⁠
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In the finale, the message is very on the nose – we need to face our trauma head on if we ever want to heal. But we get to this message in such a lackluster and haphazard way, it doesn’t pack the punch it intends to. With a mix of jump scares and run of the mill demon contortions, The Vigil doesn’t deliver on the promise of being “the Jewish Conjuring.” I wanted this to do well and maybe it will feel that way for some – but I believe this project was a huge loss. ⁠
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Know Before You Watch: Features blood, death, religious themes, racial violence. ⁠