The Scariest Non-Horror Movie Ever Made Turns 25 Years Old

In 1990, one of the scariest movies ever made landed in theaters and offered viewers a drastically different approach to the horror genre. Yes, the tropes are there, and the film does leave you in pieces, but Jacob’s Ladder is far from a conventional horror film. Instead, Adrian Lyne’s psychological drama depicted a man slowly descending into something incomprehensible. It’s a mind trip that forces you to suspend your disbelief because something as horrific as Jacob’s journey can only exist in a film of absolute fiction. Like a horror movie.

Nevertheless, Bruce Joel Rubin’s remarkable script delivers a final note that’s even scarier than the idea of being trapped in a conventional scary narrative. Perhaps what Jacob sees is only inside his mind. Perhaps it’s only an invention fueled by PTSD and hallucinogenic drugs. But does that make it any better? Does that make it any safer to navigate through the mind of an emotionally destroyed individual?

Twenty-five years ago, the horrors of war were portrayed on the screen. A few battlefield scenes were meant to provide a rough outline of Jacob’s troubled past, but it wasn’t a match for the traumatic consequences of the conflict. Getting lost in the discussion of whether Jacob’s Ladder is horror or not seems completely secondary to the actual experience and what it leaves you with. For some, Jacob’s Ladder provides a necessary commentary about war. For others, it is a plain horror film with the most disturbing imagery of the 1990s. But for everyone, it is an experience of immense sadness, an overwhelmingly scary film that lets loose the demons that are trapped in everyone’s minds. And they are terrifying.

What Is ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ About?

Jacob’s Ladder follows Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins in one of his best performances) as he tries to reinsert himself into society after the war. He’s a postal worker living in New York City with his girlfriend, Jezebel. Jacob’s past life included another family, and he had a son named Gabe who died in a horrible accident.

Jacob begins to experience strange and invasive visions. He finds other war survivors who tell him that they are suffering from similar visions and paranoia. When he digs deeper into the theory that they have all been injected with an experimental drug, Jacob realizes that strange men are out to get him.

However, he doesn’t stop there. The troubled veteran attempts to find the truth behind the hallucinations. Eventually, he finds a man that seems to have all the answers to his inquiries. Unfortunately, the truth will be the most unexpected conclusion of Jacob’s mind-bending journey.

Is ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ a Terrifying Film?

Jacob’s Ladder is ridden with disturbing images, some of which have found their way onto social media, with shocked users constantly asking what film they are from. The eyeless doctors, the car passengers with disfigured faces, the demonic entities in the dance sequence: they’re all part of Jacob’s nightmarish reality. Jacob’s Ladder is scary, but its scares are not based on the usual narrative gimmicks like jump scares. Jacob’s descent is inevitably tied to a final destination that can’t harbor anything pretty, and it runs in a slow-burn plot that’s not afraid to show what personal demons look like.

Then again, what Jacob finds at the end of the tunnel is strangely peaceful. An encounter that can only represent one thing: the real end of Jacob’s journey. An eerily contemplative moment in which he accepts that ascension is the only way. This is followed by the biggest reveal of the plot, one that we’ll leave for you to discover.

Lyne’s film was the main influence behind the Silent Hill franchise. Silent Hill 2, which some call the best game of the entire series, bears a strong resemblance to the film in terms of plot. Even the abstract imagery from the film was addressed by Christopher Nolan as an influence on his Academy Award-winning epic, Oppenheimer. The special effect of the rapidly-shaking heads has become a staple of the horror genre, and Jacob’s Ladder was the pioneer of such imagery.

Where to Stream ‘Jacob’s Ladder’

Jacob’s Ladder is currently available to stream on MGM+ and The Roku Channel. It can also be rented or purchased on digital platforms like Prime Video and Apple TV+. In case you don’t find the 1990 version of Jacob’s Ladder on streaming, and instead come upon the 2019 remake, don’t make the mistake of spoiling yourself with what’s basically an inferior and uninspired version of the same premise.