Film Of The Week #80 - Jacobs Ladder

Tusky

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099871/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0kW6xuxtPU

I picked Jacobs Ladder because unlike most FOTW's, its not unanimously applauded so may spark some discussion or debate. Although its a very well known movie, its not really considering a classic so hopefully some of you haven't seen it and can go find a copy on the back of this thread. For this reason I'll keep the post spoiler free.

Jacobs Ladder is a tense, supernatural thriller focusing on ex Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer, played by Tim Robbins. He begins to hallucinate and becomes paranoid as he starts to sees horned demons and other creatures in his day to day life. His world begins to unravel as the devision between hallucination and reality becomes blurred. I haven't seen the film in some time but I remember it being genuinely creepy & scary.

I also really liked the special effects which focus on surreal imagery. They are subtle but very effective and unnerving. I get the feeling that if the movie was to come out today, it would be full of CGI which would be much less effective in disturbing the viewer.

The movie is said to have inspired elements of the Silent Hill games. I only found this out recently but the more I think about it, the more I can see it.

Thoughts?

bluto63

Decided to see this movie after listenin to Rabbit In Your Headlights by Unkle. While I spent the majority of the movie just waiting for that line in the song, I did think it was quite an enjoyable movie. Wasn't blown away by it, but was good nonetheless

MooseJam

This had the stupidest ending EVER !!!1!

Parrish_Crooks

Bought this on DVD recently on a posters recommendation in this forum. Haven't seen it yet but looking forward to it arriving!

shrapnel222

MooseJam wrote: »

This had the stupidest ending EVER !!!1!

haven't watched this in years, but this sounds completely wrong to me. it was a very clever ending which opened up a hell of a lot of doors and possibilities. Because of the ending leaving you saying WTF!!!!???it certainly made me watch it again and again to make sure i hadn't missed anything.

The Denouncer

How can anyone who has half a brain call the ending stupid? The whole film is littered with clues to whats happening, there could be only 1 ending!

As he is dying he relives (or continues) his 'life' in his mind and the film beautifully shows him going from a hell-like state where his body is dying to a state of acceptance (heaven) as he finally dies.

. Remarkable movie.

tman

Have been meaning to check this out for years now, I'll definitely give it a watch tonight.

Karl Hungus

Terrific film, and a great choice, Tusky!

Yeah, I can see why people wouldn't like the ending, by today's standards it comes as an overly obvious twist. Jacob's Ladder isn't a film that rests on a twist though, it's much more of a character piece, and it's brilliantly carried by Tim Robbins in the lead role.

MooseJam

lol at the spiel on the poster - "The most frightening thing about Jacob Singers nightmare is that he isn't dreaming" liars, damn liars thats exactly what he is doing

Neo#

What timing. I only saw this yesterday. It is very creepy in parts but most of the time I had no clue what was going on. Its one to watch a second time I think.

Oscholar

Such a great film. Genuinely creepy and original, unlike many of the 'horror' films that are spewed out these days! It's been so long since i've seen it; I need to watch it again soon.

nacho libre

Yes. One of my favourite films ever for all the reasons listed above.

Paligulus

Thanks you sir for the great recommendation. I'd heard of this film in passing but never really took the time to look into. really glad I did. Enjoyed every minute of it and would have to say it's Tim Robbins finest moment.

Personally, I actually a got a little pang of nostalgia because film reminds me exactly of the kind of film I would have stayed up till 4 in the morning watching on BBC2 when I was 13 (complete with moody Intro from Mark Kermode, or was it Mark King?)!!! Is it just me or was there a lot of these disenfranchised style of films in the early 90's???????

Vic Vinegar

I loved the film when i watched it years ago (when it was first out) I watched it in the last year though and didn't find find it anywhere near as enjoyable for some reason (could have been cos i knew what was coming!) Still it was very effective on the first viewing!

Tusky

Paligulus wrote: »

Thanks you sir for the great recommendation.

Youre welcome! Good to know that some people do search out films after reading about them on FOTW.

quarryman

Ok so i grabbed this film after spotting the thread here.

I really couldn't give this film any more than 5/10.

Acting was poor.
Pacing was bad.
Script was SO bad, it seemed like it was made up as they filmed.
Cinematography was good I guess.

Overall i thought it was incoherent and directionless.

I'm undecided about the ending.

I was 1/3 of the way through and I was bored and wanted to skip through what i knew were uneccesary scenes.

I'm off to imdb this for a bit in case i missed anything crucial....

quarryman

film of the week.

PixelTrawler

The Denouncer wrote: »

How can anyone who has half a brain call the ending stupid? The whole film is littered with clues to whats happening, there could be only 1 ending!

Remarkable movie.

Nicely put, I was thinking how to describe it and you nailed it in one.
Excellent movie. Years since I've seen it.

quarryman

quarryman wrote: »

film of the week.

where did Jackdaw's post go?!

I'm going to have to start quoting other peoples' posts more often instead of directly replying and then the original post disappearing. Its making me look like a schizo.