I think Ms. Spenser requested The Vigil (2021) based on the recommendation of one of the horror authors she followed. It was not because she is Jewish.
It starts with a support group for New Yorkers who have left an ultra orthodox Jewish sect. Our protagonist, Dave Davis, seems to be suffering from anxiety, PTSD, guilt, and maybe a touch of hallucination. He also is unemployed and is having trouble making rent. Also, when a nice girl in the group tries to invite him out, he doesn’t know what to say. The sect separated men and women.
Outside, his old rabbi offers him work as a shomer - someone who sits vigil over a corpse all night, reading psalms to settle its soul. He doesn’t want to be involved, but he needs the money…
The deceased was a holocaust survivor who never left his home and drove off his kids. The widow has Alzheimer’s, supposedly. She doesn’t want Davis around. Left alone, he starts seeing a shadowy figure creeping Widow later explains that it is a mazzik, a demon who tortures broken people.
Later, when he tries to leave, he finds his bones breaking the further he gets from the house. He has to return to stop the pain. At least in this movie, we know why he doesn’t just leave.
We kind of liked this movie - it’s pretty much right in our zone of psychological horror without much gore. On the other hand, the protagonist is such a broken sad sack, it’s a little hard to identify with him. And the plot could have been a little more complex or original - I felt like I was a step or two ahead for most of the movie. I expected to be surprised by at least one twist, but didn’t really get one.
Your mileage may vary, of course. Even mine might have, if I’d been in a different mood. But for now, I’d call it a worthy effort.
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