Review of Jacob's Ladder (1990) by Jamie L — 06 Feb 2009

This film had me spinning well before 'The Sixth Sense' had jacked my soul with blunt hammer-strokes, and it wasn't until I got Nada to watch it for the first time on Austar tonight that I remembered how gaga I was when I first watched it, trying to tell anyone who'd listen about this totally creepy film about a dead guy (sorry if that crudely spoils it).

So along with Sixth Sense and Dead Man, Ladder is one of the few movies that I have a deep admiration for, since they're the only ones I've come across that creatively deal with the notion of death. You'll come across other paltry efforts nowadays ('Stay', a really dissapointing effort, and 'The Fountain', which though it wasn't bad, missed the mark), but Ladder outruns it's later remakes. I still remember the marketing for it, how the ads for it on TV used to creep me out, and there's definitely moments right from the start that get under your skin. The opening scene: just a regular bunch of army guys hanging out in Vietnam (with ace ad-lib touches from Rhames and Robbins glibbing about masturbation... nice), but even when the action hits it's the guys going into shock and frothing that unsettles you more than anything. The quick cut to Robbins on the train, with the creepy stocking faces, to the dance scene where they really use that 'body horror' shot for the first time (you'll notice how many film-makers have copied Adrian Lynne's technique since), it's all just so goddamm unsettling, and it's all very subtlet.

I think the success of Ladder as a horror film, which it definitely could be marked as, is because of it's pillow-scares (trademarked, sorry, since they hit you, but not that hard, and you can still bury your head if need be). They strain away heavily from all out monsters and gore. The film just casually strolls along (sometimes too slow, and the reason Ladder loses marks), and then Tim Robbins will go to the fridge and, oh, there's a messed up looking bloodied goat skull glad-wrapped next to the beer! It's really something that Lynne pulls this off, because going back and reading Bruce Rubin's original script there was originally meant to be plenty more visuals of actual demons and monsters, and it plays soooo much better without them. It's hard to transpose, but seeing Robbins walking through a 'real' world and being increasingly plagued by supposed hallucinations misdirects a viewer so much better, making that final twist much more bittersweet. It did for me anyway. I think you genuinely travel through this movie believing Jacob is alive, affected by bad drugs the government pushed on him, and that the visions and allegories to purgatory and hell are just clues to what 'really' happened to him, whereas if the whole battle with Hell angle took over it may have just ended up like Bless The Child or End Of Days.

And if there's one thing I think anyone can take away from this film, it is the beautiful insights into death - or life, however you see it, since the film was partly inspired by the Tibetan Book Of The Dead - all wonderfully gift-wrapped and delivered by Danny Aiello, paiiiisaaaan. I guess he is Jacob's only guide, a real angel helping to nudge his movement to the next phase, and that speech about how hell is just the part of you not wanting to let go, about the parts you couldn't deal with or accept just burning you, but when you make peace it's all good, and angel or demon, it doesn't matter since you're moving on anyway. I loved Aiello in this role, its one of the few you don't loathe him in I guess.

And along with Aiello, it's great to spot so many other great actors before they hit it big, from Ving Rhames, Eriq LaSalle, Jason Alexander, Macaulay Culkin, even Elizabeth Pena was hot (I know it's wrong, but that bit with the horn coming out her mouth.... nice), and without a doubt the most underrated muso-thesp of all time and one half of the greatest band in the world: Kyle Gass! Do you really need another reason to see this movie?