Jacob's Ladder is a horror version of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. At the end of the film, we learn that the whole film was basically in the head of our protagonist "Jacob." The film is his experience of dying in Vietnam. He is having a vision of what his life might have been.
This raises logical problems within the narrative, in which incompatible aspects of the narrative "feed" each other.
Per Wikipedia,
So, we start with a mystery. Why did this happen? Fast forward to Jacob living his life as postal employee in New York after the war. He is divorced. He lost a child. He has a girlfriend who works and lives with him. As the film progresses Jacob is tortured by demonic visions that become increasingly threatening. It turns out, that vets who served in Jacob's unit are suffering from similar visions. Are the demons real or did something happen to them in Vietnam?
Per Wikipedia
Things get worse for Jacob and he starts having flashbacks to Vietnam.
Jacob finally meets a chemist who explains what was done to his platoon in Vietnam. The chemist, who was basically impressed into participating in chemical warfare research explains,
As it turns out, Jacob's Battalion was given a dose of the drug, driving them insane. They did not fight the Vietcong. They killed each other in a frenzy. Thus, the opening scene of the film is the aftermath of a government experiment gone wrong.
There is a deleted scene (alternate ending) in which Jacob gets a Chemical Exorcism and he is cured from the demons in his head.
But this was not the film that was released, and this raises logical problems. In the film that was released, Jacob never made it out of Vietnam. He dies from his wounds in the attack on the village in the Mekong Delta. If that attack was caused "The Ladder," how would Jacob discover this through a delusion while dying in 'Nam?
The film leaves us with a few possibilities.
1. "It's all a dream." Jacob did die in Vietnam. There are no demons. There is no life in New York. There is no drug ("The Ladder" drug does not exist). Jacob just has a really outstanding script-writing delusional mind. This is a logically consistent reading.
2. "It's a vision of the future!" Jacob did die in Vietnam. There are no demons, but he is seeing what his life would have been like in New York. And yes, he was given that terrible drug. But this raises a problem. This is not a logically consistent reading (at least not if we rule out premonitions as being real).
2a. "It would have happened anyway!" How complete was this vision? Would he have eventually suffered from delusions of being tortured by demons too? Would he have learned the truth of being drugged from the Chemist? This is a mildly supernatural ending, in the sense that Jacob does have a psychic vision of the future - This is 100% premonition. If so, Jacob would have been tortured by visions of demons eventually, because The Ladder would have continued to works its chemical magic. If so, the film is logically incompatible with a realist reading of the text, because premonition is not a thing in the real world. We're still in the realm of the fantastic and not merely the mundane world of chemicals.
2b. "It, more or less, would have happened anyway." Jacob did die in Vietnam. He is seeing what his life would have been like in New York. And yes, he was given that terrible drug. However, if he had lived, he would NOT have had visions of demons, because these visions are part of him dying in 'Nam. This reading, however, does not logically fit, because it is visions of demons which cause him to find out about The Ladder from the chemist. This reading is doubly inconsistent logically, because premonitions don't fit a realist reading, and because the delusions have to occur in the future for Jacob to be motivated to learn the truth about the drug. Partial premonition appears to be the weakest reading so far.
3. Demons is real! This is the deeply supernatural reading. This fits with the Angelic role of Louis (Danny Aiello) who tells Jacob that the visions are just the next life prodding him to move on. Louis tells Jacob:
But what of the role of the drug on this reading? If the demons are caused by chemicals, how can they also be supernatural? Did the drug serve as a conduit to let demonic visions/angels cause the massacre, but then also help Jacob move on? Are the demons "bull****ting" Jacob with a story of his life in New York? That is, he never would have been a postal worker in New York dating a woman with "great hips"? If so, how do we account for the massacre at the start of the story? Was it a mundane massacre (Vietcong killed U.S. troops) or a cover-up?
The only consistent reading to the text that cleanly reduces to an answer is #1. All other readings fold in on each other with questions about how inconsistent realities can all be true.
Ultimately, the trivia of the answers don't matter. What matters is "the journey." However, if the film has "a point" then we do need to know "what happened" in the broadest of strokes. As we get the film, however, it does not appear to be willing to give us these answers. Thus
1. it is drugs,
2. a delusion while dying (of being drugged and demonically menaced), and
3. it is demons
We cannot really put our feet on solid ground.
This raises logical problems within the narrative, in which incompatible aspects of the narrative "feed" each other.
Per Wikipedia,
On October 6, 1971, an American infantryman, Jacob Singer, is with the 1st Air Cavalry Division, deployed in a village in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, when his close-knit unit comes under sudden attack. As many of Jacob's comrades are killed or wounded, others exhibit abnormal behavior with some suffering catatonia, convulsions, and seizures. Jacob flees into the jungle, only to be stabbed with a bayonet by an unseen assailant.
Per Wikipedia
At a party thrown by friends, a psychic reads Jacob's palm and tells him that he is already dead, which Jacob dismisses as a joke.
Jacob finally meets a chemist who explains what was done to his platoon in Vietnam. The chemist, who was basically impressed into participating in chemical warfare research explains,
Chemist: I'm in Saigon. I'm working in a top-secret lab synthesizing mind-altering drugs. Not the street stuff. They had us isolating special properties--the dark side/ They wanted a drug that increased aggressive tendencies. They were scared. They were worried. They figured you guys were too soft, not fighting up to your potential. They wanted something to stir you up, make you mad, you know, tap into your anger. And we did it. Most powerful thing I ever saw. Even a bad trip, and believe me, I've had my share, do not compare to the fury of the Ladder.
There is a deleted scene (alternate ending) in which Jacob gets a Chemical Exorcism and he is cured from the demons in his head.
But this was not the film that was released, and this raises logical problems. In the film that was released, Jacob never made it out of Vietnam. He dies from his wounds in the attack on the village in the Mekong Delta. If that attack was caused "The Ladder," how would Jacob discover this through a delusion while dying in 'Nam?
The film leaves us with a few possibilities.
1. "It's all a dream." Jacob did die in Vietnam. There are no demons. There is no life in New York. There is no drug ("The Ladder" drug does not exist). Jacob just has a really outstanding script-writing delusional mind. This is a logically consistent reading.
2. "It's a vision of the future!" Jacob did die in Vietnam. There are no demons, but he is seeing what his life would have been like in New York. And yes, he was given that terrible drug. But this raises a problem. This is not a logically consistent reading (at least not if we rule out premonitions as being real).
2a. "It would have happened anyway!" How complete was this vision? Would he have eventually suffered from delusions of being tortured by demons too? Would he have learned the truth of being drugged from the Chemist? This is a mildly supernatural ending, in the sense that Jacob does have a psychic vision of the future - This is 100% premonition. If so, Jacob would have been tortured by visions of demons eventually, because The Ladder would have continued to works its chemical magic. If so, the film is logically incompatible with a realist reading of the text, because premonition is not a thing in the real world. We're still in the realm of the fantastic and not merely the mundane world of chemicals.
2b. "It, more or less, would have happened anyway." Jacob did die in Vietnam. He is seeing what his life would have been like in New York. And yes, he was given that terrible drug. However, if he had lived, he would NOT have had visions of demons, because these visions are part of him dying in 'Nam. This reading, however, does not logically fit, because it is visions of demons which cause him to find out about The Ladder from the chemist. This reading is doubly inconsistent logically, because premonitions don't fit a realist reading, and because the delusions have to occur in the future for Jacob to be motivated to learn the truth about the drug. Partial premonition appears to be the weakest reading so far.
3. Demons is real! This is the deeply supernatural reading. This fits with the Angelic role of Louis (Danny Aiello) who tells Jacob that the visions are just the next life prodding him to move on. Louis tells Jacob:
Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: "The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you", he said. "They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and ... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."
The only consistent reading to the text that cleanly reduces to an answer is #1. All other readings fold in on each other with questions about how inconsistent realities can all be true.
Ultimately, the trivia of the answers don't matter. What matters is "the journey." However, if the film has "a point" then we do need to know "what happened" in the broadest of strokes. As we get the film, however, it does not appear to be willing to give us these answers. Thus
1. it is drugs,
2. a delusion while dying (of being drugged and demonically menaced), and
3. it is demons
We cannot really put our feet on solid ground.
Last edited by Corax; 02-13-21 at 06:07 PM.