Jacob’s Ladder begins its story with a vision of one the closest things to Hell-on-earth ever experienced–the real-life horror of the Vietnam War. Jacob “The Professor†Singer (Tim Robbins) and his platoon wait for another fight to start, whiling their time away trading barbs (yes, it seems Ving Rhames always wants you on the other end of his johnson) and smoking grass. A shot of a soldier’s amputeed leg doesn’t quite prepare you for the carnage to come. Without warning, chaos descends on the platoon: gunfire and shells explode around the soldiers, taking a few limbs with them, while some of Jacob’s fellow soldiers begin to violently convulse without cause.
Adrian Lyne doesn’t let viewers ease into this psychological thriller, putting them front-and-centre to the sort of jarring violence that post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are made of. Some of my worst fears were realized when, waking from his “flash†of the past, Jacob finds himself locked in the subway station. Mole people, abysmally dark corridors: that’s a recipe for terror right there, and I thought it was going to go on for two hours. Happily, after only a few initial scares, Jacob makes his way out of the subway and…
Jacob’s Ladder begins its story with a vision of one the closest things to Hell-on-earth ever experienced–the real-life horror of the Vietnam War. Jacob “The Professor” Singer (Tim Robbins) and his platoon wait for another fight to start, whiling their time away trading barbs (yes, it seems Ving Rhames always wants you on the other end of his johnson) and smoking grass. A shot of a soldier’s amputeed leg doesn’t quite prepare you for the carnage to come. Without warning, chaos descends on the platoon: gunfire and shells explode around the soldiers, taking a few limbs with them, while some of Jacob’s fellow soldiers begin to violently convulse without cause.
Adrian Lyne doesn’t let viewers ease into this psychological thriller, putting them front-and-centre to the sort of jarring violence that post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are made of. Some of my worst fears were realized when, waking from his “flash” of the past, Jacob finds himself locked in the subway station. Mole people, abysmally dark corridors: that’s a recipe for terror right there, and I thought it was going to go on for two hours. Happily, after only a few initial scares, Jacob makes his way out of the subway and into the 1978 metropolitan setting where the rest of the film takes place. Well, sort of.{{page_break}}
As Jacob, Robbins is his usual soft, man-child self, though a few confident exchanges between himself and girlfriend Jezebel (Elizabeth Peña) hint at the swaggering soldier we were first introduced to. Robbins’ boyishness makes him more of a sympathetic character, as we wonder why such a sweet-faced dude is being subjected to the sort of aggressive preternatural phenomena that pursues him all over town. While being haunted by the nightmares of his past, Robbins also dreams of his ex-wife and children (this film has almost as many dream levels as Inception), particularly his deceased son, Gabriel, played by a pre-Home Alone Macaulay Culkin. Talking to Jezebel in the present, Jacob notes the biblical names of his children, Eli, who was a prophet, and though he never elaborates on Gabriel, most will know him as the angel who told the Virgin Mary she be preggers.
Jezebel is also a biblical name, and provides some of the more obvious foreshadowing in the film, especially as it is stereotypically given to an “exotic,” accented actress. Like naming your daughter Lolita, or Busty, having the name Jezebel will play a hand in a woman’s fate. Peña’s Jezzie isn’t necessarily a hussy (though she sure does love hanging around topless) but Jacob’s troubled mind graphically fills in the blanks. Though aesthetically speaking, the scene I refer to will play out a little cornily for today’s audience, contextually, I haven’t been this horrified by the sexual act since I read of a similar scene in horror writer Tanith Lee’s The Book of the Beast. I have just four words for you: scaly man-bird penis.
Lyne had already made a name for himself in the thriller genre with 1987’s Fatal Attraction, but with the original and varied ways Jacob’s Ladder horrifies its viewers, the director proves that he can do more than just boil a rabbit. While dealing with deeper themes like PTSD and grief, the film is a roller coaster ride of thrills that can keep up with any of today’s hyperviolent fodder. Audiences shouldn’t scoff at what may seem like tired tactics, since this 1990 film predates most of the films they were made famous in. Horror enthusiasts will see similarities in its special effects to movies like The Cell and The House on Haunted Hill. The video game Silent Hill may also have taken a cue or two from certain hospital scenes that occur near the conclusion of the film. Finally, the biggest film Jacob’s Ladder had an obvious impact on shall remain unnamed, since revealing it would essentially spoil the ending. The film has also achieved posterity through the work of musical duo U.N.K.L.E., who sampled Danny Aiello’s (Jacob’s chiropractor) revelatory “devils are the angels” speech on the 1998 track “Rabbit in Your Headlights,” featuring Thom Yorke.
Jacob’s Ladder refers to the biblical story of Jacob, who fleeing from the murderous revenge of his brother Esau, sleeps and wakes to a vision of, yes, a stairway to heaven. Dissecting the analogy too far will give too much away. But if you are giving this film a viewing–and I recommend that you do–know that not only the ladder, but the fraternal relationship between Jacob and Esau has symbolic meaning for the film, if you are willing to look for it.
Overall Score: 7.90 – Good. (7s are good, but not great. These films often have a stereotypical plot or are great movies that have a few minor flaws. Fans of this movie’s genre might love it, but others will still enjoy seeing it in theaters)
Jacob’s Ladder is a satisfying thriller that, bad hairdos aside, retains most of its value in a horror-saturated market.
Tom Fronczak:
Overall Score: 8.15 — It's a great movie that everyone should see twice so they can pick up on new things during the second viewing. Buy it on VHS for cheap so you can watch it in the same gritty and grainy manner that most people enjoyed it in. You can read his full review here!
