Jacob's Ladder (film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Adrian Lyne |
| Produced by | Alan Marshall |
| Written by | Bruce Joel Rubin |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Jeffrey L. Kimball |
| Edited by | Tom Rolf |
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Production
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| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $26.1 million |
Jacob's Ladder is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Adrian Lyne, written and produced by Bruce Joel Rubin and starring Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, and Danny Aiello.
The film's protagonist, Jacob, is a Vietnam veteran whose experiences prior to and during the war result in strange, fragmentary flashbacks and bizarre hallucinations that continue to haunt him. As his ordeal worsens, Jacob desperately attempts to figure out the truth.
Jacob's Ladder was made by Carolco Pictures ten years after being written by Rubin. It drew from several inspirations for its story and effects, including the short film An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and the paintings of Francis Bacon. Though only moderately successful upon release, the film garnered a cult following and became a source of influence for various other works such as the horror franchise Silent Hill. A loose remake was announced to be in works by LD Entertainment.
On 6 October 1971, American soldier Jacob Singer is with the 1st Air Cavalry Division, deployed in a village in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War, when his close-knit unit comes under attack. As many of Jacob’s comrades are killed or wounded, others exhibit abnormal behavior with some suffering catatonia, convulsions and seizures. A terrified Jacob flees into the jungle, only to be bayoneted in the gut by an unseen assailant.
Jacob is next seen awakening on a subway train in 1975. Despite having a PhD, Jacob works as a postal clerk and lives in a rundown apartment in Brooklyn with his girlfriend, Jezzie. Jacob misses his wife and their three sons, especially the youngest, Gabe, who was killed in a car crash before the war. He is increasingly beset by disturbing experiences and apparitions. An inexplicably locked subway exit results in him almost being run over by a train. He periodically glimpses faceless vibrating figures in the shadows and narrowly escapes being run over by a pursuing car. At a party thrown by friends, he appears to witness an enormous creature penetrating Jezzie before he collapses with a dangerous fever. Flashbacks to his time in Vietnam reveal Jacob being discovered, badly wounded, in the jungle by American soldiers before being evacuated under fire in a helicopter. At various times he also experiences visions of Gabe.
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