The Vigil

The Vigil follows Yakov, a young man who has drifted away from the Orthodox Jewish community he once belonged to. Short on money, he reluctantly accepts payment to serve as a shomer, staying overnight with the body of a deceased member of that community and reciting prayers to protect the dead. The widow of the deceased doubts he is suited to the task, and as the night goes on in the dilapidated house, Yakov becomes aware of a disturbing presence that seems to threaten him.

The film is set in Brooklyn, New York, and was written and directed by Keith Thomas, who made his feature debut with it before directing Firestarter in 2022. Dave Davis plays Yakov, with Lynn Cohen as Mrs. Litvak, Menashe Lustig as Reb Shulem, Malky Goldman as Sarah, Fred Melamed as Dr. Kohlberg and Nati Rabinowitz as Lane. It runs 88 minutes and was produced by Blumhouse Productions, BoulderLight Pictures and Angry Adam Productions.

Released in July 2020, the film took about 2 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.8/10 from 9,461 votes, and on TMDB 5.8/10 from 443 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1/10 from 119 reviews places professional reviewers notably higher than the general audience scores.