Review of Jacob's Ladder (1990) by Dylan S — 17 Jan 2010

Jacob's ladder is a mindbending journy into a deeply troubled man's psyche. The movie encorperates elements of psychological thriller, horror, sci-fi, erotic thriller, and powerful spirituality.

The basic plot follows Jacob (Robbins) and his struggle coming to grips with traumas experianced during the Veitnam War. At the same time he is having troudle dealing with his divorce, his girlfriend (Pena)and the death of his son (Culkin). Any more information may give away too much past that, which should give you an idea of how twisting the story is.

The story provides and interesting look at the human condition as well as opening up many interesting questions about spirtuality all while scaring the crap out of you. Breakthrough directorial techniques at the time help escaltes the haunting and confusing elements of the storyline.

Robbins turns in a wonderful performance as Jacob, who does an excellnt job conveying his fear, confusion and sadness to the audience. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Pena, who spent the majority of the movie asking stupid questions (are you okay?), though I suppose you can'y really blame that on her.

All in all Jacob's Ladder is a unique, albeit confusing, cinematic experiance. Not for the faint of heart but a wonderous look into a disturbed man's mind. There is rarly this much beauty in a horror picture.