Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder is a truly disturbing horror story which will seriously freak-out anyone who has ever taken drugs stronger than a kiddy's paracetamol. The film does to hallucinogens what Jaws did for the seaside, Psycho did for shower curtains and Jurassic Park did for genetic engineers. Never mind the sixties psychedelic nostalgia for films like The Trip, Jacob's Ladder is definitely the nightmare version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Tim Robbins plays an ex-Vietnam veteran who suddenly begins to see some very odd things in the subway. Before long his grasp on reality disappears, more than the room starts spinning and he careers down 'Jacob's Ladder' - a series of nightmares caused by chemicals tested on him by Uncle Sam twenty years earlier.

The film is based on fact - various psychoactive substances were tested on unknowing US troops in the sixties with bizarre side-effects. The scenes where the characters are experiencing their in-head nightmares are truly

terrifying (especially the scene at the party) and before long you are as confused as poor Tim Robbins about what is happening or might have happened. Despite the weak ending that will have you arguing furiously about the point of the film and the appearance of the ubiquitous Macauley Culkin (which is enough to send anyone screaming for the happy pills), the film is by far the best horror film of recent years. Forget The Evil Dead and Hellraiser, Jacob's Ladder will be in your head for a long time to come.

Review by Dave Pallin
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94