Filmmaker Keith Thomas recently breathed new life into the Jewish horror sub-genre with The Vigil, a project that boldly dared to step outside the confines of what’s been done in the past. At long last, a new entity plucked from the Jewish tradition — a Mazzik — was added to the skin-crawling horror lexicon. But if the movie left you wanting more, you’re in luck.
While the library of genre films inspired by Judaism's 5,000-year-old culture isn’t vast, it does contain more than enough titles to keep you occupied until Thomas (or a like-minded director) once again tackles the subject matter in a new and unexpected way. These great Jewish-themed movies include stories that center around golems, dybbuks, a Jewish-inspired slasher villain, and the troubled and tragic history of the Jewish people. They run the gamut from light-hearted and comedic fare to more somber explorations of weighty subject matter.
The Golem (1915)
Predating Universal's definitive depiction of Frankenstein's monster by more than 15 years, this classic silent film is directly based on the legend of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, a rabbi in Prague who created the titular entity of kabbalistic lore. According to Jewish tradition, a golem is a being made of clay or mud that is summoned in times of trouble to protect the Jewish people. One can bring the automaton to life by writing the secret name of God onto a piece of parchment that is then inserted into the inert golem's mouth.
Known as The Monster of Fate in the United States, The Golem starred co-director Paul Wegener in the title role. It spawned two follow-ups and is credited with serving as the inspiration for Marvel heroes like Iron Man and the Hulk.
The Messiah On Mott Street (1971)
Technically, this is a segment from Rod Serling's second anthology series, Night Gallery. However, with a runtime of 50 minutes, The Messiah on Mott Street is one of the show's longer installments, giving it the honorary title of a made-for-TV movie.
The story features one of the last onscreen performances by the legendary Edward G. Robinson, playing Abraham Goldman, a sick and bedridden old man hoping for a miracle. The segment, which feels like an intimate stage play, is a wonderful showcase for Robinson and the late Yaphet Kotto (playing a mysterious man known as Buckner). It's certainly one of Serling's most personal scripts and the prolific writer paid homage to his Jewish background several times throughout his career.
The Boys From Brazil (1978)
A Simon Wiesenthal-type Nazi hunter stumbles upon a far-reaching conspiracy to clone Adolph Hitler and re-establish the Third Reich. If this synopsis doesn't grab you, nothing will. While the film (directed by Planet of the Apes' Franklin J. Schaffner) doesn't take full advantage of its excellent source material by Ira Levin, it's still worth checking out for its impressive cast.
Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier square off as Josef Mengele and Ezra Lieberman, respectively. Interestingly, Olivier had already played a twisted German doctor, Christian Szell, in Marathon Man two years prior. Both The Boys from Brazil and Marathon Man would serve as major inspirations for Amazon's historical thriller series, Hunters.
The Hebrew Hammer (2003)
A self-aware nod to the blaxploitation films of the 1970s, Jonathan Kesselman's 2003 directorial debut remains a cult classic all these years later. The meta, Zucker Bros.-style gags about Jewish cliches and neuroses feel like they helped pave the way for You Don't Mess with the Zohan and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Despite playing characters in acclaimed movies like Saving Private Ryan and Zodiac, Adam Goldberg will forever be associated with Mordechai Jefferson Carver, aka the Hebrew Hammer, a hero modeled in the same vein as Shaft, Sweetback, and Youngblood Priest. When Hanukkah is in danger from Santa's evil son, Damian (Andy Dick), Carver is tasked with saving the Festival of Lights. As of 2017, a sequel — The Hebrew Hammer vs. Hitler — is in development. The crowdfunded project will see the titular hero using a sukkah-shaped time machine to defeat the fascist chancellor of .
The Unborn (2009)
Written and directed by David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight, Man of Steel) The Unborn echoes The Vigil in the way that it uses the Holocaust as a way to track a malevolent entity of Jewish tradition (in this case, a wayward soul known as a dybbuk).
The underutilized nature of Judaism's more disquieting superstitions is what appealed to Goyer in the first place. "It was sort of a new twist on demons and exorcism," he said at the time.
A Serious Man (2009)
Much like The Vigil, A Serious Man doesn't shy away from Judaism (both projects also share the talents of WandaVision actor, Fred Melamed). The Coen Bros.' suburban parable about a man's life falling apart on the eve of his son's bar mitzvah is so specific, that it could be rather inscrutable to anyone who didn't grow up in a predominantly Jewish community.
The genre element comes in the all-Yiddish prologue, which takes place in a European shtetl, where a husband and wife debate if their house guest is a dybbuk disguising itself as a recently-deceased rabbi.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Quentin Tarantino's ultra-violent take on WWII plays into the cathartic concept of avenging the holocaust. Seeing a squad of Jewish commandos take out Adolph Hitler is like a therapeutic release and Aldo Raine's motley crew of Hebraic warriors are akin to the early superheroes created by Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster Jack Kirby, and Stan Lee.
Feeling powerless in the face of bigotry (mainly anti-Semitism), these legendary comic book writers and artists birthed characters who stood up for the subjugated groups of the world. Just as Steve Rogers liberated a Nazi death camp in a 1979 issue of Captain America, the Basterds do their part by bringing the Second World War to a swift and fiery end.
The Possession (2012)
A Jewish-themed riff on The Exorcist, The Possession takes the dybbuk idea a little further via the introduction of a "dybbuk box" — a real-world container that is said to trap a malicious spirit. Despite its low score of 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film actually deserves more credit than it got upon release.
The main protagonist (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is well-rounded, Anton Sanko's traditional horror score is memorable, and Dan Laustsen's washed-out and grainy cinematography infuses the whole package with a palpable sense of dread.
Hanukkah (2019)
This is the Jewish slasher flick you never knew you needed. Hanukkah shares a direct link to its gritty and low-budget forebears of the 1980s, thanks to an original score by Friday the 13th composer, Harry Manfredini. Except for this time, Jason is nowhere to be found.
The villain of this movie is Obediah Lazarus, a religious extremist and serial killer acting on imagined commandments from above. Believing that he is truly doing God's work, Lazarus targets neo-Nazis and "bad" Jews — murdering them before gruesomely carving a "Scar of David" into their chests.
The Golem (2019)
This take on the centuries-old tale deviates from the original story. Set during the Middle Ages, The Golem explores the wave of anti-Jewish sentiment that swept Europe in the wake of the Black Plague. It's a solid — and seldom seen — backdrop for the story, which unfolds in a Lithuanian shtetl.
When the town is blamed for the spread of the Bubonic Plague, a woman named Hanna (Hani Furstenburg) draws on her knowledge of kabbalistic mysticism to conjure up a golem. It takes the form of a young boy (Konstantin Anikienko), and while it proves effective in defeating the town's enemies, its creation has unforeseen consequences. A mix of Fiddler on the Roof and Pumpkinhead, The Golem offers up a bloody crash course on some of the more esoteric corners of Jewish folklore.
