The Vigil : The Dybbuk Stops Here The Vigil : The Dybbuk Stops Here
A former Hasid agrees to watch over a recently deceased member of the community - and who may have been haunted - in this subculturally specific supernatural thriller
David Fear, provided by
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They are called s
homers, folks who sit by a recently deceased family member or loved one, often in shifts, to watch over the body before burial. It’s a centuries-old Jewish tradition, designed to keep the soul of the dead safe from harm. Should a relative be unwilling or unable to perform this duty, it’s possible to pay a professional to sub in. It’s an honor and a calling, though there are some pitfalls in the shomer-for-hire business one needs to be aware of. The likelihood of extreme boredom is high for those who aren’t comfortable with silence, corpses, or a lack of company. The hours can be unusual. And there’s always the possibility that you may run into a spirit that, having been pr
The new horror film The Vigil embraces some familiar elements for the world of horror, though its inspiration from Judaism offers a unique perspective on the adventure that s not seen as often as Christian lore. Star Dave Davis didn t take this task likely, knowing that he not only had to offer a [.]
Movie review: The Vigil a efficiently creepy horror film rooted in Jewish lore gazettextra.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gazettextra.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Writer-director Keith Thomas' "The Vigil" is a supernatural Hasidic Jewish horror film starring Dave Davis as a young Brooklyn man performing a religious ritual.
Thomas told
The Algemeiner, “There’s an old writer’s adage that says, ‘Write what you know.’ When it came time for me to draft the story of what I envisioned would be my first film as a director, I stepped back and took stock of what might make a unique story. What was it that I knew that I could bring to a project that would make it feel… different, fresh.
“I realized that I had never seen a Jewish horror film that was set in the Hasidic community or that dealt with truly Jewish themes in terms of its lore and construction. The idea of a shomer facing a demon allowed me to explore the culture of Hasidic New York and, at the same time, dig into the horror filmmaking that I love.”