Jacob's Ladder 1990

In the scorching heat of the Mekong Delta, 1971, a senseless chaos erupts as helicopters pierce the skies above Nam. Amidst the mayhem, Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) stands frozen, his gaze fixed on the brutal reality of war’s cruel grasp. Though he manages to survive the onslaught, the trauma leaves him wounded and forced to flee on his own. The fog of war lingers as he stumbles into a rundown subway car, where the haze of exhaustion washes over him.

As he drifts off to sleep, the rhythmic sway of the train rocks him gently, but he awakens alone in a dirty compartment, surrounded by the echoes of despair. An elderly woman (Antonia Rey) sits nearby, her features etched with worry and uncertainty as Jacob asks if they’ve passed Bergen Street. Her confusion only adds to his growing unease. A vagabond slumbering nearby seems to be the only living being that acknowledges his presence.

The train’s doors slam shut, trapping him inside, and Jacob finds himself trapped in a sea of desolation. The dim lights flicker, casting eerie shadows as another train looms menacingly on the horizon. It’s as if the very fabric of reality is unraveling before his eyes. He glimpses what appears to be a tail – a fleeting image that vanishes into the abyss. Desperate to escape, he splashes through the water and makes his way back to the station, only to find himself isolated and adrift.

Jacob’s return to his New York neighborhood is a stark contrast to the war-torn landscape he left behind. He arrives at his home, where Jezzie (Elizabeth Peña) worries about his prolonged absence. Their intimacy in the shower serves as a fragile lifeline, a reminder that even in the darkest moments, human connection remains a beacon of hope.

But Jacob’s demons are far from vanquished. As he drifts off to sleep, visions of the jungle haunt him once more – the eerie silence of the spiderweb, the lush greenery of the jungle floor. He wakes up, only to find himself entangled in a web of memories: Sarah (Patricia Kalember) and the bittersweet nostalgia that accompanies her; Gabe (Macaulay Culkin), his deceased son, whose memory still lingers like an open wound.

Jezzie’s attempts at solace are met with Jacob’s tears, which only serve to deepen the chasm between their two worlds. As she destroys the photographs, except for one – a reminder of his late son – Jacob is left to navigate the treacherous landscape of his own psyche.

In a desperate bid to find peace, Jacob turns to the soothing balm of driving and singing along to his favorite tunes. His life now revolves around the mundane routine of delivering mail as a postman. He flirts with the ladies at work and seeks solace in Louis’s (Danny Aiello) therapeutic touch during his massage sessions.

But the war within him refuses to recede, and Jacob finds himself hurtling back to the moment he was found in Nam – the same moment that originally shattered his world. As he grapples with the weight of his trauma, Louis becomes an angelic presence, a fleeting glimpse of hope amidst the chaos.

As Jacob (actor name) walks down the street in his uniform, a group of young women serenade him with a catchy tune, their harmonies blending together like a symphony. But amidst the pleasant atmosphere, a car careens onto the scene, its occupants’ faces shrouded in anonymity, mirroring the blurred features from earlier. He makes his way to Doctor Carlson’s office, only to be met with a reception nurse (Suzanne Shepherd) who dismissively informs him that there is no such doctor and never was. Her suggestion that he consult a psychiatric doctor instead sparks Jacob’s frustration, leading him to bang on the table, shattering a delicate vase in the process.

The nurse, unfazed by the commotion, calmly retrieves the pieces as Jacob takes notice of an unusual adornment on her head - a strange, lifeless trinket. He flees the office, pursued by a security guard, and interrupts a group meeting, insisting that he’s waiting for Dr. Carlson. The new doctor (Doug Barron) who appears on the scene delivers a somber blow: Doctor Carlson died in a car accident a month prior, his death described as a catastrophic event.

As Jacob struggles to come to terms with this revelation, he finds himself at a house party, lost in the rhythms of Lady Marmalade. A woman attempts to read his palm, her words sending shivers down his spine: according to his palms, he’s already dead. Jezzie (Kisha Skinner) offers him comfort, and they dance together, but Jacob’s unease grows as he notices a young man fixating on him, the air thick with an unsettling atmosphere. The music stops abruptly as Jacob stumbles, his glasses slipping off his face after catching a glimpse of the stranger morphing into a featureless, dazed figure.

As the party descends into chaos, Jacob sees one of the revelers strip down to reveal a bizarre lizard tail, which viciously attacks and kills her. Overwhelmed, he faints, and when he regains consciousness, he’s flooded with memories of Nam. Jezzie scolds him for his behavior at the party, mortified by his panic. Jacob’s temperature spikes, prompting Jezzie to summon a doctor, who prepares a bath filled with ice to bring down the fever. The neighbors arrive bearing more ice, which they pour into the freezing water, sending Jacob into a fit of pain.

As he recovers in bed, Jacob becomes convinced that he’s reunited with Sarah and their son, engaging in a heart-to-heart conversation about the cold. The illusion is shattered when Jezzie and a dog look on, concern etched on their faces. Jacob’s reddened eyes flutter open as he remembers being plucked from a helicopter.

As Jacob delves into the gruesome depictions of torture and hell in a worn book, Jezzie’s piercing cry “Anybody home?” sends his paranoia spiraling out of control. Convinced that she’s a demon sent to torment him, Jacob pushes her away with a mixture of fear and revulsion. Jezzie’s parting wish - for Jacob to be dead - hangs in the air like a morbid omen as the phone shrills to life. On the other end is Paul Flanagan (Pruitt Taylor Vince), whose haggard voice sets the tone for a series of eerie encounters.

As Jacob and Paul meet at a dingy bar, the atmosphere is heavy with unease. Paul’s frantic claims that he’s being stalked only add to the sense of foreboding, while Jacob’s growing unease is tempered by his friend’s desperate attempts to rationalize their shared trauma from the war. The pair’s memories of that fateful night remain shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain - they’re not alone.

Their chance encounter at a watering hole takes a deadly turn when Paul’s car explodes upon ignition, sending him to an untimely grave. Amidst the chaos, a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows attempts to assist Jacob, only to vanish into thin air like a ghostly apparition. For an instant, Jacob is transported back to the war-torn landscape where blood and screams mingled with the scent of smoke.

At Paul’s funeral, rain-soaked umbrellas dot the somber gathering like a morbid floral arrangement. Frank (Eriq La Salle) trembles with anxiety, while George (Ving Rhames) clumsily spills his drink. Jacob’s friends gather around him as he declares that something is amiss, and their collective unease becomes palpable.

As they confer with lawyer Geary (Jason Alexander), the group’s hopes for justice are tempered by the daunting prospect of a costly battle ahead. Meanwhile, the eyes of an unseen observer continue to watch them leave the office building, like a ghostly sentinel tracking their every move.

Later, Jezzie breaks the news that their case has been abandoned, citing her friends’ sudden retreats and Geary’s reluctance to take on the military behemoth. Frank’s admission that he was coerced into backing down only adds to Jacob’s frustration, as he becomes increasingly obsessed with pursuing justice - despite his friends’ reservations.

As Jacob is snatched from the street by a group of officious-looking men, a bystander’s screams and a man dressed as Santa Claus (Jan Saint) provide an unsettling counterpoint to the chaos. The would-be philanthropist’s hasty theft of Jacob’s wallet serves only to further erode his already tenuous grip on reality.

As a young police officer (Raymond Anthony Thomas) rushes Jacob into the hospital, a sense of urgency and chaos settles over the scene. A compassionate nurse (Bellina Logan) reassures Jacob that they will do everything in their power to save him, while the resident doctor (Scott Cohen) seems more intrigued than concerned about his condition. As Jacob’s consciousness begins to falter, he is beset by a series of bizarre and unsettling visions: a broken bike, grotesque people looming over him, and a gruesome butcher’s shop replete with human remains.

The evil Dr. Davidson Thomson appears, coldly informing Jacob that he is dead, but Jacob insists on his own sanity and vitality. As the eyeless Dr. Ed Jupp Jr. performs a disturbing procedure, Jacob’s grip on reality begins to slip further. Just as it seems like all hope is lost, Sarah and two children visit Jacob in the hospital, only to be met with his desperate insistence that he is alive.

In the midst of this surreal chaos, Jacob becomes convinced that he has been given a taste of hell. But Louis, a mysterious figure with a rough but effective massage technique, insists that Jacob’s wounds are merely physical and that he can be healed. As Jacob begins to recover, he discovers an honorable discharge document and a poignant drawing created by Gabe, which seems to hold the key to his current predicament.

As Jezzie returns home, concerned about Jacob’s prolonged absence, she is met with a mixture of fear and confusion when Jacob reappears, heavily bandaged and haunted by his visions. The phone rings, and Jacob warns Jezzie not to answer it, but she picks up anyway, revealing that the hospital has been calling her all night in search of him. As Jacob’s grip on reality falters once more, he is drawn into a desperate bid for freedom, urged on by a mysterious voice warning him to be aware of potential pursuit.

As Michael Newman (Matt Craven) has been tracking him for some time, it becomes clear that Jacob’s past is shrouded in a cloak of mystery. He presents himself as a former chemist who worked for the Army’s chemical warfare division in Saigon, where he was involved in the development of a novel drug dubbed “The Ladder”. This experimental compound was designed to amplify aggression, unleashing soldiers’ most primal instincts and rendering their conscious minds powerless against the onslaught. Initially tested on monkeys, it was then administered to captured enemy combatants with devastating consequences. The Army officials were satisfied that the drug had achieved its intended effect, prompting them to secretly administer small doses to Jacob’s battalion, resulting in a brutal free-for-all where soldiers turned on each other. It is here that Jacob’s world descends into chaos, as one of his comrades wounds him, blurring the lines between friend and foe.

As Jacob seeks solace, he hails a taxi, pouring all his money into the driver’s lap (Sam Coppola) before instructing him to take him home. The driver inquires about Jacob’s destination, but our protagonist is lost in thought, grappling with the memory of his wounding at the hands of one of his own comrades.

Upon arriving at his doorstep, Jacob is greeted by the enigmatic Doorman (Thomas A. Carlin), who addresses him as “Doctor Singer”, a moniker that seems to hold secrets of its own. As they exchange pleasantries, Jacob finds himself alone in his dimly lit home, lost in nostalgia as he reminisces about playing with his young son, Gabe.

Suddenly, the shadows recede, and Gabe materializes beside him. Jacob is reunited with his child, and together they ascend to a radiant haven where the warmth of their bond illuminates the darkness. Meanwhile, Michael Newman finds himself back in Vietnam, solemnly announcing Jacob’s passing as he and another doctor (Jaime Perry) abandon his lifeless body to the jungle.

As the credits roll, the screen fades to black, punctuated by captions that allude to the controversial use of hallucinogenic drugs during the Vietnam War. The Pentagon has consistently denied these claims, leaving the truth shrouded in uncertainty.

The film concludes with a poignant montage of Jacob and Gabe strolling hand in hand, their bond captured from behind, a testament to the enduring power of human connection amidst the chaos and destruction of war.