He warns that if it’s not done before then, the Mazzik will never leave him. The implication clear, as this is Yakov’s first encounter with the demon. Litvak relays the most vital step in thwarting this demonic parasite from latching on burn its real face before the dawn of the first night that it appears. The video describes the Mazzik as a being whose head is twisted entirely around as it’s “damned to look backward, to stare in the past.”
Litvak was forced to execute a fellow concentration camp prisoner, and the traumatic event attracted the Mazzik. It’s a callback to the opening scene, in which a Nazi forces a man to point a gun at a woman. He describes it as a parasitic entity that found him in the woods five decades prior, attracted to his suffering. Litvak plays to deliver the exposition behind this movie’s demon. Roughly halfway through The Vigil, Yakov finds his way into the basement, where an old tape of Mr. Here, the Mazzik -which means “destroyer” in Hebrew per the director in an interview with SyfyWire– feeds off of the suffering of its host. Writer/Director Keith Thomas, making his feature debut, introduces the Mazzik, a demon of Talmudic mythology. Litvak to emerge in hopes of making Yakov its newest victim. It doesn’t take long for things to start going bump in the night, and for the demonic entity that latched on to Mr. Litvak and her deceased husband for the night. Litvak ( Lynn Cohen ), rejects Yakov as her husband’s Shomer, financial desperation drives Yakov forward in completing the job, and he’s left alone with Mrs. Even when the Alzheimer’s afflicted widow, Mrs. Straightaway, Yakov learns that the first Shomer fled in fear shortly after stepping inside the Litvak household. The role of Shomer is often a job performed by family members or paid professionals. In this case, it’s for Holocaust survivor Mr. Yakov accepts to act as Shomer, where one guards a recently deceased body against evil spirits until they can be buried. It’s the latter that causes him to accept a paid job from a cousin ( Menashe Lustig ) who intends to exploit Yakov’s monetary anxieties in hopes of bringing him back to the Hasidic Jewish community. Yakov also struggles financially, often choosing between prescription meds or meals. That lead is Yakov ( Dave Davis ), a former Orthodox Jew attempting to adjust to the secular world after tragedy sucked away his faith. This spooky tale takes place over one frightful evening, with its lead confronting both his guilt and a demonic entity. What sets this chilling tale apart, though, is its approach, refreshing shift in religion, and distinct demonology. Karras’s journey set the blueprint for demonic possession horror, and The Vigil adheres to the mold. It’s only when he takes a giant leap of faith that he’s able to win. His grief and guilt over his mother’s death threaten to swallow his faith whole, which in turn makes him vulnerable to Pazuzu. Its lead, Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), struggles with believing amidst a world of suffering. Possession-based horror movies tend to feature a central protagonist suffering a crisis of faith, thanks to the massive success of The Exorcist.