Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Dir. Adrian Lyne

Jacob's Ladder has never had a poster or home release cover that did it justice, on any medium, so I chose the image that I consider to be most iconic. It was used to promote the film in UK Video Stores, and is the one that I had taped to my wardrobe door for many years as a teenager.

It doesn't give any real indication of what the story is about, but, after viewing, you'll maybe agree that it does at least capture the tone of the film's more unsettling, thematically dark moments.

I'm deeply sympathetic to whoever initially chose it because I now find myself wanting to convey why I feel the film excels in its genre, but also want to avoid providing info to anyone who hasn't seen it, because a first viewing is best experienced with as little foreknowledge as possible.

It's a psychological horror in which a Vietnam vet named Jacob (Tim Robbins) struggles with fragmented memories of at least two traumatic events: one that occurred before the war, and one that occurred during it.

It's a slow burn story with peaks and troughs along the way, but they're precise, feeding into each other in a thoroughly unsettling manner. Moments of terror are contrasted with moments of peace and healing, with obvious references to what we now understand as PTSD. There's more to Jacob's experiences than that, but I've reached the limit of what I'm willing to say.

Well, I can add that Elizabeth Peña and Danny Aiello also star, and both are great in their role.

-Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer.-