The Vigil

Skip the prestige-TV noise — The Vigil, in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Philo and AMC+ Amazon Channel, is quietly one of the better ones. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Dave Davis anchors it with a performance that rewards close attention. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, The Vigil earns its spot. The writing in The Vigil treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity. The performances from Dave Davis and Lynn Cohen give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. The Vigil came out in 2020. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers drawn to character-driven storytelling will find plenty to sit with in The Vigil. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Dave Davis's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.

The Vigil was released in 2020, directed by Keith Thomas. The full 88-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.