Review of Jacob's Ladder (1942) by Liz M — 01 Dec 2009

Like a number of other really decent horror films, it enjoys keeping you guessing not just about whatâ??s real and whatâ??s not, but about what kind of story it is that theyâ??re telling. Is it a Vietnam protest? Is it about the horrors of psychedelic drugs? Is it about a lowly mortal caught in the middle of a divine struggle? Or is it a new spin on â??An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge?â?? All these interpretations play out simultaneously as the film unfolds with new hints dropping all the time, so we never know what we can expect to happen next.

The stylish but realistic photography grounds the film and makes the visual gags really pop out when they do happen. The filmâ??s highlight is certainly the decaying hospital which seems somehow to get worse and worse with every single cut.

I do think the film owes its very existence to â??Videodromeâ?? which presents the same paranoid erosion of reality in a different context, but kudos to Lynne for making such a risky and frankly arty concept work so well as a conventional thriller.