Jacob´s Ladder
released 1990
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“Jacob´s Ladder” is an American, horror, psychological thriller produced Mario Kassar, Andrew G. Vajna, Alan Marshall and Bruce Joel Rubin who also wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Alexander, Patricia Kalember, Eriq La Salle, Ving Rhames, Brian Tarantina, Anthony Alessandro, Brent Hinkley and many more.

Jacob´s Ladder IMDb webpage

“Jacob´s Ladder” is the story of Jacob Singer, played by Tim Robbins. He is a Vietnam War veteran whose life is turned upside down by strange, horrific visions and experiences some of which can be attributed to his time fighting in the Vietnam war. Jacob is a man who has suffered great loss and trauma and might well be having a psychological break from reality. One of his strange visions are from his time at war with the 1st Air Cavalry Division on the Mekong Delta in the jungles of Vietnam. A strange, horrific massacre takes place where Jacob suffers a bayonet wound and looses consciousness.

He wakes up in a 1975 New York City where he lives and works as a postal clerk in Brooklyn but he is plagued by strange visions and his girlfriend Jezebel, played by Elizabeth Pena, is not understanding. He thinks of his old family who might or might not exist and misses his son who died. He tries to contact his doctor through the VA hospital but is told that they have no record of him. Furthermore, his told that his doctor has died. I cannot stress enough how strange his visions are they really have him wonder if he has completely lost his sanity. But much more is going on than PTSD or any kind of dissociative disorder.

Let me start by saying that as far as psychological thrillers go this one is a doozy. We are lead along the path of ignorance and terror just like Jacob. We really don´t know much of what is going on. The title, Jacob´s Ladder is referring to a biblical reference from Genesis 28:12. Now, I´m not a biblical scholar but I think that they might be referring to the character, Jacob Singer in this case, taking some kind of ladder to Heaven or going through the death experience. Just keep in mind that the title is obviously some kind of clue as to what is going on with Jacob. It is a clue that supernatural, spiritual things are going on even though they are not necessarily nice things.

Another aspect of this story was the Vietnam War. The 90s really represent the end of references to the Vietnam War because most of those storytellers have retired or shed their mortal coils, so to speak. The Vietnam War was a stain on the nation where a population actively opposed the war and where many of the soldiers who took part in the war came back maimed or psychologically destroyed. This was a traumatic time where many atrocities of war were brought to light and Jacob Singer seems to embody that. He embodies all that went wrong with the US Govt. and the war at that time.

So, what makes this old film so good besides the elements stated above. Well it´s the way that we the viewer are as lost as Jacob. It is a scary ride. His visions seem so real that they just might be real and it is only toward the end that we get a better idea what is going on.

For example, the scene were he is almost hit by a car and the strange face that stares back at him makes your skin crawl. Or when Jezebel is dancing and grows a demonic tail while she dances. Add to the story the discovery that the U.S. Govt. secretly performed drug tests on its soldiers and everything gets more sinister and strange.

So, check out “Jacob´s Ladder” because it´s dated but still a good watch.

John Ink2Quill

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