Jacob's Ladder
Tags: psychological, gothic, violence, cult, horror, alternate reality, haunting, flashback, insanity, psychedelic, tragedy

Plot synopsis:
Helicopters at Nam. We are at the Mekong Delta, 1971. Suddenly, all the soldiers have splitting headaches and go wild. They are attacked. Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) doesn't even move; he just stares at the mess and cruelty of war. He survives but has to run away on his own. He is wounded.He wakes up alone at a dirty underground wagon. He fell asleep while reading a book. He goes to another compartment where there is an old woman (Antonia Rey) and inquires if they have passed Bergen Street, but she doesn't understand him. There's a tramp sleeping there. He thinks he sees something like a tail. He leaves the train at his station but the doors are locked and chained. The exit is at the other side of the railway, he is alone in the station. He splashes into a pool of water; lights are flickering, another train is approaching menacingly - and he thinks he sees faceless people staring at him from the windows, one of them waving him goodbye.It's a sad, downtrodden New York side he lives in. Finally, he gets home to Jezzie (Elizabeth Peña), who was worried about him being so late. He has a shower and Jezzie showers with him.In Nam, he is crawling in the jungle. He notices a spiderweb. He wakes up in the morning, after having made love to Jezzie. They stare at some old photographs: one of them is Sarah's (Patricia Kalember). There is also a picture of Jacob's dead son, Gabe (Macaulay Culkin) which makes him cry. Jezzie offers some consolation, but she wants to destroy the photographs because they make Jacob cry. Later on, she throws the photographs into an incinerator, except for the one Jacob keeps in his wallet of his late son.Jacob driving while singing. He's a postman now. He flirts at work and goes for a massage to Louis (Danny Aiello), who feels that Jacob is terribly tense today. He comes back to the moment he was found in Nam. Jacob feels so relaxed, suddenly, and Louis looks like an angel to him.Walking down the street in his uniform, a group of young women (Kisha Skinner & Dion Simmons) sing to him  Hey, Mr Postman. A car tries to run him over, with the same blurry faces as on the train. He goes to Doctor Carlson's. The reception nurse (Suzanne Shepherd) says that there is no such doctor and never was. She suggests he sees a psychiatric doctor. Jacob bangs on the table, breaking a flower vase. When the nurse picks it up, he notices she's got a weird dead thing on her head. Jacob runs away and is followed by a security guard. He interrupts a group meeting. He says he's waiting for Dr Carlson. The new doctor (Doug Barron) says that Dr Carlson died in a car accident a month ago, it just "blew up".Jezzie thinks he's exaggerating. She touches his back.He is in a house party dancing to  Lady Marmalade . A woman wants to read his future. She says that according to his palms, he's already dead. He dances with Jezzie, one of the partygoers, but feels the need to go. He notices a young man staring at him and several birds flying around. He stumbles and his glasses fall after seeing the man become a dizzy faceless man. He sees one of the partygoers strip down and a weird lizard tail hurting and killing her. The party stops because he panics and faints.He remembers about Nam. Jezzie tells him off because she felt mortified at the party. Jacob has a temperature, so Jezzie calls a doctor. She prepares a bath with ice so that the fever goes down. She calls for the help of her neighbours to ask for more ice. Mrs Carmichael (Gloria Irizarry) brought a bag full of ice. Some of them put them in the freezing water and he screams in pain.Back in bed, he thinks that he's with Sarah, and that his son enters his bedroom to complain of the cold. They talk father-to-son. It looks like he's been hallucinating. He wakes up dazed and confused, with Jezzie and a dog looking at him. He closes his reddened eyes, and remembers a helicopter picking him up.Jacob sees pictures in a book of torture and hell. Jezzie screams at him "Anybody home?", and he interprets it as her being a demon, so he pushes her away. She leaves, wishing he was dead. At that moment the phone rings; it's Paul Flanagan (Pruitt Taylor Vince).They meet at a bar. Paul thinks that he's being followed, and is scared to death. They start wondering what they did to them that night in Nam which they can't remember. Somebody is looking at them. They are going out of the bar together. Jacob stops to pick up a penny saying "my lucky day". Paul starts his car and smiles: it blows up, killing him instantly. The man who was staring at them tries to help Jacob, but then he leaves before Jacob has time to assimilate everything. For a second, Jacob remembers how the pilot got shot and blood spilled everywhere.It's Paul's funeral: it's raining, and everybody is carrying an umbrella. Frank (Eriq La Salle) trembles. George (Ving Rhames) spills his bottle. Jacob says to his friends that everything is too suspicious. Jacob and his 5 friends contact a lawyer, Geary (Jason Alexander) to sue the military department. He says it'll be expensive as hell while munching some crappy food. Somebody watches them leaving the office.Later, Jezzie tells Jacob that the lawyer is not taking his case as his friends have all backed down. Frank says that he's backed down because of having been threatened. Jacob insists that Geary take his case. He says that he's just checked his background and he and his friends were left out of the army draws on psychological grounds.Some guys kidnap Jacob in a car. They are official-looking men. A lady with a buggy sees that. Jacob hits the man and jumps out of the car, where a man dressed as Santa Claus (Jan Saint) stares at them. He's begging for money and he steals Jacob's wallet.Jacob is admitted to hospital. A young police officer (Raymond Anthony Thomas) has found him. A nurse (Bellina Logan) tells him that they will do for him everything they can. The resident doctor (Scott Cohen) looks as though he's having fun. Jacob starts seeing a broken bike, and weird demented people all over him. He passes through some butcher's place with human parts all over the place, and watches a faceless man (Alva Williams) trembling again.An evil doctor (Davidson Thomson) is getting ready to operate on him and tells him that he's dead. Jezzie is a nurse there. He insists he's alive and sane. An eyeless doctor (Ed Jupp Jr.) punctures his forehead with a needle and reaches his brain.Sarah and two children visit him in hospital. Jacob insists he's alive. A voice says "Dream on", and Jacob panics again. His doctor tries to take him out of hospital. He's heavily bandaged. The nurses and paramedics cannot stop them. Louis gives him a massage: Jacob says that he was in hell. Louis's treatment is rough and painful, but he says that now, Jacob is well.Jacob checks on his honourable discharge documents. He also sees a drawing made by Gabe. He was playing with his bike, and started to pick up his baseball cards from the road. A car ran over him. He thinks he sees him at home but sees a blurry man again. He caresses his temples.Jezzie enters with some groceries. She asks where he's been, as he's been away for two days. She looks very concerned. She called every hospital in the city, but he was nowhere. The phone rings, and Jacob tells her not to pick it up. She picks up andsays she hasn't seen him all night. Jacob picks the phone up when she asks "what experiment?". Jezzie looks terrified and asks him not to go. He hugs her, says "sorry and leaves. The voice tells him to make sure he's not being followed.Michael Newman (Matt Craven) has been following him for some time, as he was one of the survivors. He claims to have been a chemist who used to work for the Army's chemical warfare division in Saigon. They had invented a new drug called "The Ladder". It was designed to increase aggression, bringing soldiers' most primal urges to light in such a way that the conscious mind could not repress them. The ladder was first tested on monkeys and then on a group of captured enemy combatants, with gruesome results. It was deemed that the drug had created the effect wanted by the army officers, so the next step was to give small doses of the drug to the soldiers in Jacob's batallion in secret. Here it was when all hell turned loose, as each private attacked his fellow soldiers. The result was a carnage, so one of his fellow soldiers was responsible for wounding Jacob, not the enemy.Jacob leaves and takes a taxi. Jacob gives the taxi driver (Sam Coppola) all his money and tells him to take him home. The driver asks where his home is. Jacob finally remembers the moment when he was wounded, and it was somebody from his platoon.The Doorman (Thomas A. Carlin) greets Jacob as "Doctor Singer", saying that it's a long time since they have seen each other. They shake hands.He is alone at home; he sits in the dark and reminiscences about playing with Gabe. He sees Gabe. Jacob and his son hug each other. Gabe takes him by the hand upstairs, into the shining light.Newman is in Nam: he says that Jacob is gone. He and another doctor (Jaime Perry) leave his body behind carelessly.Fade to black.Some captions say that "It was reported that the hallucinogenic drug BZ was used in experiments on soldiers during the Vietnam war. The Pentagon denied the story."End credits.Photographs of Jacob and Gabe walking together, from behind.

Review: It is like hypnotism, you have no choice...you are unable to think, act, or even believe apart from the intense feelings Jacob's Ladder inspires.Tim Robbins is Jacob Singer, a warm and genuinely likable Vietnam veteran who, in spite of earning a doctoral degree, chooses to find employment working for the U.S. Postal Service.
Each of these people's relationships with Jacob represent more than just the roles they fulfill in his life, they are absolute forces at battle for his sanity, and possibly even his soul.His torment begins to include the past as well, the undeniable love he still has for his ex-wife and painful memories of his son Gabe, who died tragically in an accident (played by a young and virtually undiscovered Macauley Culkin).
As all these elements of the past, present and future collide in shocking hallucinations, Jacob slowly begins to suspect he could be the victim of a secret Army drug experiment gone terribly wrong.With a haunted desperation, he embarks on a journey to find out what on earth happened to him - only his visions / flashbacks / flashforwards have become so delusional that reality and fantasy are hopelessly interwoven and nothing is as it seems.
This is director Adrian Lyne's best by far, and by the way he's no slouch (Fatal Attraction, 9 1/2 Weeks).This is not a horror movie as some may think, it is human drama masterfully disguised as a supernatural thriller.
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......
Integral to a collective grasp of this great and disturbing film however is the need to tie-in the relationship between Jacob the individual, the biblical "Jacob's Ladder" itself and the relevance of "The Ladder" as explained (and seemingly forgotten by most everybody) by the runty chemical weapons boffin at the near conclusion of the film.To those who view the ending as "rushed," "unsatisfying," "obscure" even "dumb" as I recall, I would merely suggest you watch it again and take into account the likelihood is, that it is in fact YOU that has missed what has been so cleverly set out for you.
SIGNS was equally misunderstood by the majority of people that even liked it - there never WERE any aliens!JACOB'S LADDER is Robbins' greatest film - Lyne's too.
Now, having seen it with better 'movie' eyes, I have to say that few films can deliver what Jacob's Ladder delivers.
The Brazilian title of this movie, "Alucinações do Passado" ("Hallucinations From the Past"), wrongly induces the viewer and destroys the dubious sense of the original title: Jacob is the lead character, "Ladder" is the name of the experiment his platoon and him had been submitted in Vietnam; but the interpretation of "Jacob's Ladder" in the Bible is that this is the only means to reach the total ecstasy, the plenitude, however, we need first supersede the obstacles that we find in our ascension.
Jacob's Ladder is one such movie.A Thriller/Film-Noir that sets a standard for the genre, it deals with metaphysical enquiries of the most profound there can be: Life, Death, War, Peace, the World outside and inside one's self, Heaven and Hell, Torment and Redemption.Above all things, it's a voyage through a man's perspectives upon the Past and his Present, through his life and his personal fears and sorrow.The acting is superb; the general mood is dark and sad with a lot of eeriness and yet strangely peaceful at times.The viewer will feel the main character's (Jacob Singer) confusion and sympathise with his personal cause.The Sound Track is beautiful and fits quite well with the general imagery and feeling throughout.The dialogues are meaningful (specially between Jacob and Louis, his chiropractor), which (sad to say) has become a rarity in movies nowadays.Get the movie, get the Extras and enjoy this Gem..
I guess its fair to place the movie in the space between the horror and thriller genres.The story deals with the journey between life and death of a Vietnam casualty.
Reality is blurred to hellish extremes in this film, making it a disturbing yet fascinating experience.Jacob's Ladder begins interestingly enough.
The dance-floor scene filmed in stroboscopic light when Jezzie appears to have sex with something that looks like a demon were made using life-size models and shot in real time.Some think Tim Robbins finest moment were in Shawshank redemption and maybe it was but i certainly can't think of a better choice to put Jacob Singer alive.
The dance-floor scene filmed in stroboscopic light when Jezzie appears to have sex with something that looks like a demon were made using life-size models and shot in real time.Some think Tim Robbins finest moment were in Shawshank redemption and maybe it was but i certainly can't think of a better choice to put Jacob Singer alive.
HELL, I finally got it and fortunately I liked it.We follow the main character Jacob Singer (played by Tim Robbins) who was a veteran in Vietnam through his life that - from the start - gets stranger and stranger.
In fact, it seems quite obvious that JACOB'S LADDER has inspired many recent movies like THE SIXTH SENSE, THE OTHERS, STAY, November (which I watched yesterday!), DARK CORNERS and even some David Lynch's works, just to mention those I have watched.It's really a great film in its message, in the plot, the production (if we remember it has almost twenty years now, we must say the production is excellent!), the cinematography, the surreal scenarios and weird scenes, like the ones at the party or at the hospital.I didn't get surprised by the ending just because of three main reasons: 1) at the beginning I already knew the thematic of the movie; 2) some clues are given along the movie to the final disclosure; 3) but especially this one: I've been watching many films with this thematic in the last years so I'm already prepared to this kind of ending.
This gave the movie a very dreamlike and surreal feeling that I haven't seen duplicated by most other horror/suspense movies - which this movie's uplifting ending and overall message sets it apart from.There are a lot of scenes where I even felt like turning this off if I didn't already know how good it was.
Thanks to its likable main character (lovingly played by Tim Robbins) this film runs from emotions of utter terror; as our hero inexplicably sees demons, to moving sadness; as Jacob recalls his deceased young son.
The moody music score by Maurice Jarre also adds to the spookiness.The cast is excellent, the best of which is Robbins as our sympathetic and heart-felt hero.Jacob's Ladder is the kind of film that offers a mind-blowing journey that most films can only hope for.
Even when you already figure out the ending way before the movie ends, you'll still have a more than great time watching this movie and it won't ruin the experience for you in any way.I said before that this movie is quite similar to modern genre movies and this is true for its story but with its style and approach this movie perhaps feels more like a late '60's/'70's psychological horror movie, such as for instance "Rosemary's Baby" and to some extend also "The Exorcist".It's quite funny.
Jacob's ladder is one of the few movies that has invoked a true plethora of opinions in regards to what it was all about as well as what many individual scenes actually portrayed.It is a journey of the soul and human consioussness, a portrayal of the struggle between life and death as much as good and evil, even if the two are not always distinguishable.Tim Robbins and the rest of the cast give masterful performances, through a story that, although a bit fragmented, paints a fantastic picture of the main character's life.It would be very hard to analyze the movie more without spoiling it with my own interpretations and this movie is all about your interpretation.
It's safe to argue I think that Jacob's Ladder is a good movie, but it felt to me like it could have been a great one.
The camera work and clever direction by Adrian Lyne combine with these story elements to form a very disturbing picture.Unfortunately, this film becomes too convoluted as it tries to identify and define everything that is going on in the story (ie the mind of Jacob).
Upon seeing it for the first time I thought it was rather weird and while not exactly cheating didn't seem all that different to " He woke up and it was all a dream " type endingI've seen the movie a couple of times since which is something of a back handed compliment , after all if you know what the ending is JACOB'S LADDER still has some worth .
The producer and director have probably done the best job possible in making it appeal to a thinking audience but the majority of people aren't a thinking audience and you can just imagine on its original cinema release many female viewers watching the first five minutes thinking there's no way they're sitting through a war movie and walking out , with many of the opposite sex following them after twenty minutes thinking they're going to be watching a domestic drama while after forty minutes the remaining audience are thinking to themselves where the hell this movie is heading I do confess to enjoying JACOB'S LADDER but only in some parts .
I guess since Tim Robbins is a fairly well known actor ( And he plays nice guys like Jacob Singer very well ) these days and shock twist endings are in vogue again , not to mention conspiracy theories JACOB'S LADDER will probably be better regarded in 2004 than what it was in 1990 .
But perhaps the chief problem is that one invests a lot in this character- thanks to Robbins he is somewhat likable- and it's all for not, basically, when it's revealed what the entire film has been.But despite the flaws in the script (for another thing, even at two hours it feels too long), surprisingly Adrian Lyne makes it work, at least partially as a story and more-so as a visionary.
Weird things begin to happen, which combine with harrowing combat flashbacks to make Jacob feel he is going insane.Although "Dr. Singer" is clearly a complex character, we never learn much about what made him who he is, apart from the Vietnam experience and the loss of his young son.
It is much more than a mere plot gimmick, it is an excellent example of imaginative film making at its best.Tim Robbins, in his transition from actor in silly comedies (anyone remember 'Erik The Viking'?) to more credible movies like 'The Player' and 'Bob Roberts', is perfectly cast as a Vietnam vet caught in a nightmare he doesn't understand.
"Jacobs Ladder" (1990) is a dramatic horror mystery told from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran named Jacob Singer, played by Tim Robbins, as he tries to navigate his life through the physical representation of his inner demons.
This film embodies the core principles of the psychological thriller genre, you don't know if the protagonist is just suffering from PTSD, if is something going wrong for real, if his in hell or something like that, what is real and what is in his mind.The acting of Tim Robbins in this film is really outstanding, you can feel the fear and the pain of the protagonist through the film with each dialog, with each scene, you just want him to have some peace.
one of the best psychological thriller movies about Vietnam veteran "Jacob" experienced weird dream while he was in coma the movie will change your mood and make you ponder deeply about death if you're into philosophical movie here's one for you , don't miss it , if you have watched " The jacket" by John Maybury you may find it similar with this one and finally i'd like to mention a quotation i really believed from this movie "if you're frighting of dying the devil will tear your life apart but if you've made your peace then the devils are really angels freeing you from earth" Enjoy ..
If you see this movie merely as a hapless man's ordeal on physical world, you have missed the main point and I recommend to watch again: look beyond the visuals, don't think the events on a linear time scale and pay a strict attention (especially talking of Jacob's chiropractor, Dr. Louis) to the hints scattered throughout the movie.Tim Robbins' performance is flawless and fascinating.
I strongly recommend Jacob's Ladder to the people who like psychological thrillers and soft horror movies.Overall rating: 8 out of 10..
It's safe to say, that Tim Robbins and Elizabeth Pena exceeded any expectation in this movie, both being somewhat risky parts to play in their given roles.The attention to detail in many of the demonic horror scenes is striking and gives a great opportunity to the viewer to re-watch and pick up something different.
Something horrible happened when he was there and maybe due to shock he's blocked out some of the details, we aren't sure.Although the film could certainly be interpreted in different and interesting ways, I feel like it's quite clear what was going on by the end.
In order not to make this an spoiler, I highly recommend to read about the interpretations of the bible verses referring to Jacob's ladder, which you can find elsewhere in the net.Having said that, the film is one of the most bizarre and and creepiest chain of events I have ever witnessed, with some very well placed portions of "nothing happening" filled of quibbling only in the light of those attentive.Having some particular knowledge about some of the Christian interpretations of life and dead, will show you that at the end, there is very little left to interpretation in this movie.A master piece of terror indeed, but probably for a very selective audience..
Jacobs Ladder drills straight down to your thalamus from the start.Based on what might partially be a true story, the film takes the viewer into the out of control mind of a war veteran.
"Jacob's Ladder" is admittedly a movie, which made an immense impact on me when first watched years back, albeit prone to not understanding the full story given my age at that time.
Now but a fluttering memory I decided to revisit the surreal world created by Adrian Lyne in his sole venture into the genre of horror.Jacob (Tim Robbins), a war veteran, who survived a deadly attack by enemy forces in Vietnam, now leads a normal life as a postman.
Even though he keeps flashing back and forth between reality and his feverish fantasies, he deep down knows he is dying.Then at the end he finally does die, and is then at peace with his little boy he lost before.These are just some of the answers I've figured out from watching the movie many times.A great story.
Here's a borderline-surrealist horror film with religious and polemic military undertones regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the treatment of psychologically unhealthy veterans.Jacob Singer (played well by Tim Robbins) has sustained subtle psychological damage during a combat tour in the Vietnam War. Years later he is living in New York City, employed as a Postal Worker (despite having a Ph.D) and abiding a contented existence with his girlfriend, when he begins to see strange creatures inhabiting his surroundings.
This was partly because of Tim Robbins realistic performance as the main character Jacob Singer, a Vietnam veteran who is started to see demons throughout his daily life.
Adrian Lyne's 1990 masterpiece, "Jacob's Ladder", is one of those films that break the typical (and usually false) conception of what a horror movie should be, and by exploring the dark corners of the mind, shows off the unlimited potential of the horror genre as an art form."Jacob's Ladder" is the story of Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) a Vietnam war veteran who works as postal worker and is trying to start a new life with his girlfriend Jezebel (Elizabeth Peña) after his ex-wife Sarah (Patricia Kalember) divorced him.
While at first sight all this may sound too ambitious and contrived, Rubin makes it work and the final result is one of the most original movies (not just horror) ever written.While he is better know for his high quality erotic thrillers, director Adrian Lyne does a remarkable job (probably the best in his career) at giving life to Bruce Joel Rubin's story of insanity and horror.
As he worked closely with Rubin in the screenplay, Lyne decided to keep the ambiguity of the film's plot by focusing only on Jacob, but this also allowed him to keep the story's humanity and soul.Tim Robbins is simply perfect as Jacob Singer, and this is definitely one of the best works of this very underrated actor.
As Jacob Singer suffers through a series of unbelievably gruesome events that snaps his mind and leaves him almost insane.There's a very touching and eye-opening scene very late in the movie with Louis, who just rescued Jacob from being lobotomized, trying to explain what's been happening to him without giving away the films surprise ending.
Jacob's Ladder is not a film that will appeal to everyone, but for those with good taste, this is a movie you won't forget..
Jacob's Ladder makes us wonder what is happening all over the movie, but solves the mystery, entirely, in the last seconds (leaving very few clues throughout the film about what really happens).
The only thing I have to add about Jacob's Ladder is this: How often do you watch a film and get to the final scene, and say to yourself "My God...is that what was really going on here...".