Jacob's Ladder
1990 Directed by Adrian Lyne
Synopsis
The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.
A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war life isn't what he believes it to be when he's attacked by horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit him...
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Jacob's Ladder is a strange film, a film that doesn't give you the whole picture, it drip feeds you bit by bit and although I had idea where it was going towards the end there was always a crucial piece that was kept out of sight, that kept you doubting yourself.
This feeling of having the answers just out of reach is enhanced by the strong visual style of the film which meshes the grimey, downtrodden New York of the 70s with strange, otherworldly monsters which reminded me of Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Tim Robbins' performance as Jacob is also important in this regard as you're never quite sure if he's insane or whether everyone else is and he pitches the…
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Without a doubt this is one of the finest psychological-horror films I have ever seen. Mysterious, moody and scary as hell.
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A fairly solid movie. The beginning of the story is designed to let you think about how everything is the way it is. It has some nice shilling scenes, but just as with Dark City they aren't exploited. They are just there and when everything starts to get somewhat interesting, they break the storyline with some uninteresting scene.
The last part of the film is just... well it feels kind of wrong.. I can't really put my finger on what's wrong.. but something is. It's just unconstructively pulling and pushing you from side to side, to drop the bomb (ending) at you. The ending was okay, nothing more, nothing less.
Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't boring at all and challenges you to think (in a good way).
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Really clever horror film that grabs the audience. Imagine how powerful if this film was made in the 1970s.
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Still think this creepy, surreal flick is underrated. By far Lyne's best movie, though I know that's not saying much.
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Um pouco confuso em seu transcorrer, mas coerente e um pouco surpreendente no final.
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Without a doubt this is one of the finest psychological-horror films I have ever seen. Mysterious, moody and scary as hell.
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A brilliantly scary movie with some tremendous effects work is let down by a formulaic conclusion.
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I came to find Silent Hill, I stayed for... everything else.
Let's first get clear on the fact that Jacob's Ladder is not a "hard" horror film, as in there are practically no scares despite the on-screen scary elements. This film is 100% psychological (and philosophical, possibly also metaphysical), and delivers an initial horror and mystery, then plays on those and reveals what's hidden behind them.
Jacob's Ladder's disjointed structure, multiple flashbacks and actual dream sequences make sure that it feels like a strange dream, at times turning into a real nightmare. A heavy sense of something not being right, and the feeling that a terrible event might happen at any time permeates through. It's bleak, not very dark, but… -
Jacob (Tim Robbins) is a soldier in Vietnam who endures a 'terrible event' TM. After some time back home he finds himself working as a postman (despite having a degree) and living a fairly ordinary hum-drum life with his girlfriend, Jezebal. After having a near miss with a train while crossing the tracks on the subway he starts experiencing increasingly disturbing hallucinations/sightings of demons and feelings of paranoia. Is it real? What really happened to him in Vietnam? Is he going crazy? And just how sexy is his girlfriend? (Answer to that last one is very ) Throw in a deceased son from a car crash and the man has troubles..........
A pretty well crafted psychological drama with elements of…
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Jacob's Ladder is a strange film, a film that doesn't give you the whole picture, it drip feeds you bit by bit and although I had idea where it was going towards the end there was always a crucial piece that was kept out of sight, that kept you doubting yourself.
This feeling of having the answers just out of reach is enhanced by the strong visual style of the film which meshes the grimey, downtrodden New York of the 70s with strange, otherworldly monsters which reminded me of Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Tim Robbins' performance as Jacob is also important in this regard as you're never quite sure if he's insane or whether everyone else is and he pitches the…
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This was like watching a David Lynch movie without the creepy dream-like atmosphere. Though it might come off as confusing, it does explain itself along the way. Good watch.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Thought provoking, I liked everything about this film, the way it was filmed, the hospital scene. I totally understand the ending and was blown away, beautifully done.