L'Échelle de Jacob

Jacobs Ladder is one of those rare films that throws you and your mind about like a ragdoll before giving you a bitter conclusion that turns everything upside down again. Forget Donnie Darko, that was mere childs play, this film is something else. Jacobs Ladder provides an experience so intimidating, brutal, wonderful and beautiful unparalleled to this day. This is something you have never seen or experienced before in film, and will probably never experience again.

Jacob Singer is a postal worker, who, through the brutal effects of Vietnam, mentally breaks down, and starts seeing demons following him, killing his friends, raping his wife...... Make no mistake, Jacobs Ladder is a grim film but behind its dark mask lies an uplifting message of hope, freedom and mental release. I wont say anymore, because spoiling the plot for you would be extremely horrible of me, who am i to take away the magic of seeing the film from you.

I'm not going to say that this is accessible to everyone, its not in the least. If your favourite film is American Pie than turn away, this is REAL film making. A lot of people will not like this, because they will expect, like with most films, to have all the answers served to them on a plate. Jacobs Ladder requires the viewer to do the thinking, letting them have their own perceptions of the film rather then being fed that of the directors. If you do choose to go on Jacobs journey with him be warned, it wont always be pretty, but you will come out of it gratified that for once in film you have the freedom to think for yourself.

Jacob's Ladder is a masterpiece. Nothing less.

It has a highly intelligent plot though not difficult or artsy and is void of cliches. It therefore confuses and aggravates many viewers and professional reviewers always wanting a standard has-it-all Hollywood outpouring.

It is so few films that leaves room for independent thoughts. Jacob's Ladder tumbles your mind the same way a dream of your own does. I have never felt this effect in a film so strong before. The images comes pouring in and your brain tries to make sense of it. Whenever you think you have a grasp it slides away again.

The brilliance of the progression of the story, twists and turns, and the final explanation, so obvious but elusive as real dreams are, makes it on par with the best of Kubrick.

Jacob's Ladder has attained cult status and rightly so- this is a haunting psychological horror film with some surreal imagery and scenes which will make you distinctly squirm. Tim Robbins plays Vietnam vet who is suffering from perhaps post traumatic disorder or something else. He realizes that almost the entirety of his battalion is also going through something similar. He decides to make sense of this and get answers. As mentioned earlier the images are surreal and terrifying as is the slow descent into madness that we as audiences feel. The tone is suitably dreary with low lights, dripping rain and shadows. Go watch Jacob's Ladder to be creeped out.

New York postal worker Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) has nightmarish hallucinations stemming from his horrific Vietnam War experience. His wife Jezzie (Elizabeth Peña) struggles to help him. He is also haunted by his first marriage to Sarah and his dead son Gabe (Macaulay Culkin). Louis (Danny Aiello) is a chiropractor whose adjustments unleashes a long paranoid demonic nightmare.

This is a great movie of a personal nightmare. It's a very good performance of a paranoid character from Tim Robbins. Some of the images are actually quite disturbing. It may be the first time that I noticed the shaking head effects. The long nightmare does meander a little. It's hard to expect hallucinations to drive a straight line to a destination. The final reveal is problematic and pulls the rug from the rest of the movie.

I remember viewing this movie a couple years back and I did not get a lot out of it, I thought it was just too weird. In fact, I even wrote a review of the film on here. I'm glad I gave it another try because I really got a lot more out of it after the second viewing. Maybe it was because my expectations of the film were lower or I have matured in past few years. Anyway, this is a highly fascinating and entertaining thriller about a Vietnam veteran who always feels like there is somebody or something "out to get him". He feels this way because he keeps seeing strange images and many people in which he comes in contact with appear to have horns growing out of their heads and whatnot. Him and his war buddies believe that these strange occurrences are the result of something that happened during the war. The best element of this film is its atmosphere and paranormal feel which will really give you the creeps as well as have you guessing what the cause of the strange occurrences that are affecting Jacob really are. Well worth viewing, and if it doesn't grab you on the first viewing, don't hesitate to try it again, you may enjoy it more. 8/10.