Review of Jacob's Ladder (1942) by Andy S — 24 Oct 2018

Those are some very beautiful shots. the sky painted with an orange glow and the helicopters looking kind of ominous tracking in the sky. I'm really appreciating the Apocalypse Now aesthetic and feel. Even the gun shot rings sound from back then. Watching this, you really get the sense of how draining and tiring it is fighting in a war. It's incredible how well they nail the 70's look especially when Robbins' character wakes up in the subway.

Things are already getting creepy as fuck. The lady and now the bum with a demon tail. This is just starting out. What kind of nightmarish hell ride am I getting myself into? He seems to be having some pretty bad PTSD from the war he was in. These different occurrences that he keeps seeing, almost looks like they might be signs. Warning him of something. It's almost like evil, the devil, demons are out to get him or something. The faces on some of these creatures are really haunting. Really scares one.

This dude's life is all kinds of fucked up and things just don't seem to be working for him. The thing about this movie is that it always keeps you on edge. You can't really determine what's real and what's not, what's dream and what's reality. It really fucks with your head and not in a nice way. Ok, so my theory is that Jake is in purgatory awaiting to see if he goes to hell or heaven. But the big question is what did they do to deserve it? I know they went to war, but is there something more sinister behind it all?

His girlfriend, Jezebel, is definitely a demon in disguise. Bitch. Holy shit, when they start taking him down to "X-Rays" in the stretcher. It seems like Jacob keeps getting pulled from both sides. You got his wife and kids who are trying to help him reach heaven, it seems like. But then all these other "dark" influences who are trying to drag him down to hell.

In the end, he made his peace and with the help of his son, he was able to find heaven. What a beautiful story. This movie has so much depth to it, it's amazing. It's a political movie, it's a movie about the horror's of war, it's a movie about life and death, heaven and hell, faith, religion, and most importantly a movie about making peace with oneself.

Something I couldn't help but notice right from the start was how meditative at times the movie is, almost beautiful. But then at the same time it's hellish, a pure living nightmare, a true horror story. This paradox, contradiction, is the kind of thing I love in art. This movie was really brilliantly written. The way the story is told and how everything just pieces together and unfolds is fantastic. The aesthetic and look of the movie is impressive as well, making it look like French Connection. This movie completely defied the whole horror genre and put a spin on it by making it beautiful. This movie makes you think. That's why it's so impactful and so damn good. Definitely in my top 10 horror movies of all time. Kind of reminds me of Don't Look Now.