• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Philadelphia Film Society

See something you'll never forget

  • Now Showing
  • Programs
    • Film Series
    • Education & Community
    • PFS On Us
    • Signature Events
  • Film Festival
    • 32nd Philadelphia Film Festival
    • Submissions
    • Past Film Festivals
  • Support Us
    • Become A Member
    • Individual Giving
    • Sponsorship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer
  • Venues
    • PFS Bourse Theater
    • PFS East Theater
    • Philadelphia Film Center
    • Rent Our Venues
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • News & Stories
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Join
  • Donate

THE VIGIL

Keith Thomas | USA | English, YIDDISH | 2019 | 89 min

A lapsed Orthodox Jewish man tasked with keeping watch over a dead member of his former community is faced with a malignant force in this distinctive, hair-raising chiller.

Set in Boro Park, Brooklyn’s Hasidic community, writer-director Keith Thomas’s striking debut inventively draws on Jewish superstitions to build a singularly unnerving entry into the canon of great haunted house horror. Though he’s estranged from the religious community in which he was raised, cash-strapped Yakov (Dave Davis) reluctantly agrees to fill in at the last minute as a shomer, a guardian who watches over the recently deceased from the time of death until burial. With no one to keep him company but a dead body and the man’s creepy widow (Lynn Cohen), Yakov settles in for what promises to be an uneventful night. But when strange, disquieting things begin to occur, Yakov begins to realize why the previous shomer was scared away. Over the course of a terrifying night, Yakov must keep this mysterious, malevolent entity at bay. Steeped in Jewish lore, THE VIGIL applies its cultural specificity to an elegantly crafted, thoroughly frightening supernatural thriller with unsettling undertones of generational trauma.

CAST: Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig, Malky Goldman, Lynn Cohen


All sales are final. You must be located within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware to stream this film. We suggest prioritizing your lineup and watching films as close to the premiere time as possible. This title will be available until November 2nd or until streaming capacity is reached.

CLICK HERE to return to the complete 29th Philadelphia Film Festival program.

Showtimes

Click date & time to buy tickets

Join our mailing list
Copyright ©2023 Philadelphia Film Society, Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 23-3077468
Administrative Offices 1412 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19102 267-239-2941
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Now Showing
  • Twitter.com/PhillyFilmSoc
  • Instagram.com/phillyfilmsociety/
  • Facebook.com/PhilaFilmSociety