I hadn’t heard of The Vigil before the day I watched it. When I needed something new to watch my editor brought it up and I said: “Alright, that will do.” This horror movie about a jewish man who becomes haunted by a demon while looking over a deceased elder is the feature film debut of writer and director Kieth Thomas. While I do think Thomas does show a lot of promise as a filmmaker, The Vigil does at times seem content on being just good enough.
First the positives. This movie is expertly shot. The framing somehow remains to be shrouded in darkness but it is always clear what’s going on and you never become lost. Also shots know exactly how long to linger. Though the story structure is flawed (more on that later) the pacing is really well done. Scene will linger for as long as they need to in order to frighten and I don’t think you’ll ever become bored while watching the movie. The ultimate highlight for me is really the music composed by Michael Yezerski. When I walked out late at night after viewing the film, it was his compositions that made me uneasy to be out in the dark. I’ve been able to find some samples of the music online but I would love to have this music on vinyl. I really don’t think music like this has stood out in a horror movie since the last Halloween movie.
Now I’m going to focus on something a bit weird, the elements that are good enough. For me, a horror movie lives and dies by its character work. If you don’t care about the people being stalked there is no reason to fear the boogie man that is coming for them. The Vigil relies on just one character for you to care about, Yakov. There are people we see outside and an old dementia lady with him, but it’s really only Yakov that is in any danger. This character is looking to distance himself from his faith and starts to question if it’s something he wants to continue following. The problem is we’re not revealed any of the “why” for this until after the first act. But the thing is there is enough shown for you to understand Yakov’s conflict, it’s just shown way too late and doesn’t even really get the exploration it deserves. I got enough to care about Yakov for the short time remaining in the film but by the time I finished the film I forgot about him. I actually had to google his name not long after watching the film. As for the acting, it’s also good enough. It’s hard to really be too critical of the acting because the performers don’t really get that much material. I think they do well with what they got, but there aren’t any performances that will stick with you.
Now for the more overt problems. The narrative really falls apart in the end. Because the story structure doesn’t really allow for that many strong character arcs by the time that I reached the end of the film it felt like the movie was ending because it ran out of spooky ideas and not because of any natural progression. Also it does feel like the movie does rely on jump scares in order to transition between story beats. Some of them are well earned and effective, others were bland and unnecessary. By the time the movie ended I felt like it could’ve explored so much more. There’s a scene where Yakov finds a video in the basement that explains the demon. Yes, The Vigil has one of those “let me just exposition this movie to you” scenes. Typically that’s a flaw but the actual backstory was pretty interesting. The demon attached itself to this old man because of the suffering he had gone through and now needs to find the next host now that he is dead. I actually felt like I would’ve liked to learn more, but once the movie explains the demon the entire movie just says “that’s over now” and moves on. It also would’ve been cool to learn more about the old dementia lady but for some reason Keith felt like that was unimportant. The reason for this lack of exploration could be that Thomas Keith wanted to make the most concise movie he could. This could’ve come with the focus on Yakov above all else. I think that’s fair, but because of this streamlined focus I don’t think I’m ever going to watch the movie again. I cared enough during the first viewing, but when I think back most of the stakes that the story carried were either at best underwhelming or at worst non-existent. This is a movie that I think will become more and more bland and boring on repeated viewings.
With all that said, I do recommend watching the movie one time. I think a lot of horror fans will get something out of the tense cinematography and music. Also there is enough here to get somewhat invested for first time viewing. If you aren’t a fan of most mainstream haunting movies (i.e. The Exorcist, The Conjuring, or Insidious) you probably won’t like this. But if you just want an hour and a half of spooky images I don’t think you’ll go wrong with The Vigil.
Give it a shot.
