Hello ladies, gentlemen, and creatures lurking in the shadows! This month, October, is a favorite among horror fans, such as myself. My goal for the next 31 days is to share with you the scariest and best of the genre. The films will range from old school classics to modern day gorefests (they won't be in any particular order). So scout these movies out, grab a bag of popcorn (or a blood bag) and enjoy!
Jacob's Ladder (1990) Dir. Adrian Lyne
Jacob's Ladder is, in my opinion, one of the best "mindfuck" movies of all time. The story begins with Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) and his troop in the Vietnam War. After some bromantic small talk, the men are all of a sudden subjected to heavy fire, but for an unknown reason the unit starts exhibiting strange, erratic behavior. We find out soon after that these are flashbacks Jacob is having - currently he is living with his girlfriend Jezebel (Elizabeth Pena) and his emotionally-wrecking memories of his son's death (played by Macaulay Culkin through flashbacks). Jacob starts to have very vivid, terrifying hallucinations (with creepy monsters!) and soon finds out that the members of his team from the war are having similar problems. I really don't want to give too much away - you really just have to go on this amazing journey! Find this movie!
One of the infamous scenes in Jacob's Ladder is the "dance" scene. This nightmarish scenario places Jacob in a strobe-lighted, music-booming dance floor as he watches his girlfriend getting jiggy with a different partner. The scene starts out innocently enough, but slowly things start becoming very weird. Her dancing turns into more of a grinding, and it seems to morph into an almost sexual act. Through the strobe light flashes we catch glimpses of what might be a reptilian appendage through her legs as well - and as the tension gets higher and higher, all of a sudden we hear a "RIP" and this white horn tears through Jezebel's mouth. Few images are more disturbing and unexpected than that.
I feel as though Jacob's Ladder should be regarded as a "classic," but it's rare that I meet someone who has actually seen it before. Really, it's an amazing film that I can't recommend enough. If I could tell you to find and watch one movie on my Month of Terror list, it would most likely be this one. It's a visceral cinematic horror story that really can't be described properly through words - it simply must be seen! Plus, you get to see a pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander (still bald though) and Danny Aiello (in a non-tough guy role) as Jacob's chiropractor (and in a "cameo" that literally lasts half a second you can see Lewis Black before he was famous!). Please find this film. It's kind of an obscure find now -- but get it on Amazon, rent it off Netflix (I believe there has just been a re-released DVD and Blu-ray), or buy it off the black market if you have to, just make sure you don't miss out!
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