Comparisons with Bierce's "Occurrance at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Carnival of Souls" are inevitable and not out of place, but "Jacob's Ladder" has more layers than either of those and ambitiously takes on the psychological layers of one man's life, the tension between the comforts of home, wife and family and the unfufilled desires he harbors.

There are some violent scenes and very disturbing imagery throughout the movie; after all, it *is* about war, fear, and death. However, none of it is gratuitous, and the use of strobe lighting, quick cuts, and odd camera angles keep the viewer from being able to see anything definite. But don't say you weren't warned....

The DVD's documentary and deleted scenes, along with the director's commentary, will enable the first-time viewer to get a more complete idea of what is happening. I've watched this film at least a dozen times, and never fail to see something new in it each time. Sound and image quality are excellent.

This one isn't for casual viewing; it is *certainly* not a Saturday-night time killer, nor is it a "horror" movie in the standard sense of the term. Still, absolutley my highest recommendation.

Opening with Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) in Vietnam, the movie flashes forwards to his life back in the States, where he lives an isolated existence as a postal clerk. He has a shy, touching relationship with a girl (Elizabeth Pena) he has met at the post office, but he cannot seem to really connect with people. Something in him has been damaged, it seems, by the horror of the war. Worse, he's hallucinating badly and suffering from flashbacks.

Slowly a plot emerges. We see shots of him before the war, happy, with a wife and son, and then learn that he may have been used as a subject for unorthodox drug experiments. He meets other vets who are similarly disturbed, and a gentle chiropractor (Danny Aiello) who has some sage words of advice about his past and future. And then we get a series of unsettling scenes that subvert everything we have seen and force us to read it in an unsettling new way -- which of course would be absolutely criminal to reveal here.

Let's face it -- this isn't a fun movie. It's bleak, depressing, disturbing, and ends on the darkest possible note. But it's also made with absolutely consummate skill and complete assurance in the material. This wasn't a hatchet job, but a real piece of art, and it needs to be seen in that light.

I think this movie is unfairly underestimated and not given enough credit. Tim Robbins' performance is flawless and fascinating. Adrian Lyne directed the movie very well; the emotions and the tension that are aimed to be brought about are achieved quite successfully. One interesting fact about the movie is that when you watch it for the second time, you notice a lot of things, which you did not notice or could not make sense out of in the first place. Names, small incidents, conversations, even the advertisement in the downtown train take on a new meaning once you know what is really happening to Jacob Singer. I strongly recommend Jacob's Ladder to the people who like psychological thrillers and soft horror movies.