Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

(On VHS, May 2000) Another of these dark films which throws disturbing images at you while promising a payoff at the end. (See Stir Of Echoes) Unfortunately, it barely delivers on these payoffs, even negating a part of what made it so creepy. Proof? Well, if the ending is to be believed, then at least one whole subplot/timeline (most of the film, actually) does not mean anything and shouldn’t even be there. That’s the point where Jacob’s Ladder stops making sense and becomes a series of images designed to creep you out. Too bad it couldn’t be more coherent, because a slight rewrite could have made it so much more efficient.