Only the commitment from the always-solid Michael Ealy saves it from being one of the worst movies of the year, although just barely.
Ealy plays Jacob Singer, a medic in Afghanistan who is startled to discover that the latest body on his stretcher belongs to his brother Isaac.
After returning home and settling down with his wife Nicole Beharie and new child, Jacob begins to have terrifying visions, although most of them are of the jump-scare variety instead of the slow-burn horror approach used by Lyne. Or does he? Could Jacob just be going crazy? Rosenthal and his collaborators drop in visual beats that will be familiar to fans of the original -- both films have a fascinating visual motif of motion as subway trains and speeding cars come racing through history to catch up with Jacob Singer.
Consequently, it gives us a version of Jacob Singer who simply bounces from plot point to plot point, occasionally terrified by a jump scare but never resonant in a way that makes his plight feel relatable. It sometimes feels like the filmmaking is actively working against him. Although he certainly makes out better than the supporting cast.
He climbs that staircase and meets his death. In fact, if you come to think of it, throughout the movie, we see him trying to make his way up to a staircase. He tries to get out of the subway, but the exit is blocked. In the party, he is going up a staircase when he is stopped by a woman who invites him to have his hand read. We see him going around, taking elevators and even walking down the stairs, but the only time we actually see him walking up is at the end of the film.
The fact that he is dead also comes up time and again. The woman reads his hand and tells him that according to his lifeline, he is already dead. The reference also comes up a couple of more times, including in the hospital where they drill into his forehead. Even Louie quotes Eckhart, which describes hell and what it actually means. All the things around Jacob are nothing more than a means to make him accept his condition and decide what he wants to do from here.
Death does strange things to people, perhaps his experience is one of those too. However, there is another explanation that gives a more concrete ground to his situation. It will be easier to accept if you believe in the idea of heaven and hell.
Purgatory, is it? Anyway, this is the place where the angels are free to guide him and the demons are free to torment him. Every single person around Jacob is one of those things. To give more support to my argument, I must mention the many biblical references in the film.
In it, he dreamed of a ladder that gave way between heaven and earth, and God talked to Jacob while angels went up and down the ladder. The ladder represents a way to heaven, a means to embrace your end, and this is what Jacob, of the film, needs to do. Jezebel, aka Jezzie, according to the Hebrew Bible, made her husband, the King of Israel, abandon his gods and worship others.
Lus close to Louis was the name of the angel who helped Bible Jacob climb up the ladder. On a number of occasions, Jacob is saved by Michael, who ultimately tells him about the Ladder. The fact that Jacob is caught up in the tussle between angels and demons is evident by the thing that his time with the angels gives him clarity.
They save him and ultimately help him move on. Michael and Louis save his life, while the others are just trying to torture him in their own ways. For a man who loves his family, this is hell. Introverts understand this kind of hell! After that, he has a fever and they throw buckets of ice on him. Then there is the hospital scene where it is all about torture. All the demons want to get their hands on him because they want to torture him.
He is either saved by the angels or the memory of his family. In one of the deleted scenes, Michael further helps Jacob by giving him an antidote which purges him of all the effects of the Ladder and he is free of his hallucinations. When he goes back home, he meets a confrontation with Jezzie where he realises that she is one of the demons. In a scary sequence, she begins to change into her true form. But when it is over, Jacob finds himself staring at himself. This is when he realises that he has been creating his own hell and he needs to move on.
Further, there are films that might not officially accept it, but they clearly have some crucial similarities with its plot. Take for instance the best film of M. The protagonists of both the films turn out to be dead at the end and need to make peace with their condition before moving on.
The point is that this film emphasized on the importance of questioning the point of view of the protagonist. It might not have tasted a lot of success after its release, but it has slowly gained a reputation and an acknowledgement that it has deserved for so long. Considering the increased interest of the audience for psychological thrillers, it seems like a good time to bring this story back. Rosenthal, who has taken a break from making romantic comedies. But you can still expect a big twist at the end.
You just might see it coming if you pay close attention. The film was finally supposed to see the light of day this month, with a February 1 release. But it once again got pushed, and now it will probably be released sometime later this year. The remake has a script from Jeff Buhler , who also wrote the recently released The Prodigy. While doing promotion for that film with Rue Morgue , Buhler was asked about the Jacob's Ladder remake, and he proceeded to shed some light on the project.
For one thing, Buhler has confirmed the new movie won't have the original's famous twist:. The new Jacob's Ladder focuses on a pair of brothers, and the war in the Middle East plays a part in the story as well. Beyond that, though, the plot is mostly a secret.
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