The Golem

Delving into Jewish folklore, this supernatural tale begins with a prologue in Prague, where a young girl, Perla, sees a rabbi grappling with a monstrous golem. And then the story moves to a Lithuanian shtetl, circa 1673, where Hanna (Hani Furstenberg), whose only son died seven years ago, is secretly studying Kabbalah. The tight-knit village is so isolated that, when a deadly plague strikes, the community is spared. As a result, neighboring Gentiles blame the Jews for their suffering. When marauding Russians invade Hanna’s sister’s wedding, they’re led by Vladimir (Alex Tritenko), who demands that now-grown village healer Perla (Brynie Furstenberg) cure his dying daughter, or see the village burnt to the ground. While the rabbi urges prayer, Hanna advocates fighting back, sneaking into the synagogue to comb through sacred texts for instructions on how to conjure a golem, ostensibly for protection. The golem emerges as a grimy little boy, clutching a doll that belonged to Hanna’s son, but when Perla spies Hanna lovingly washing dirt off this mysterious creature, she urges the latter to destroy it. Meanwhile, after Hanna sees her husband (Ishai Golan) dining with a flirtatious neighbor, her anger propels the golem to kill the woman and it soon becomes obvious that Hanna and the golem share a deep, mystical bond. Directed by Israeli brothers Yoav and Doron Paz, this reasonably effective Jewish horror flick is a strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)