Jacob tries asking about Paul and the men in the tunnels, but Isaac claims to not know anything. Jacob pursues her and ends up hit by a train. However, I’m here to counter that “Jacob’s Ladder” 2019 is not “as bad” as the nasty negativity around it wants everyone to believe. Haunting hallucinations continue plaguing Jacob. Another day, another disposable DTV Amityville movie. Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. God tells Jacob that his offspring shall spread across the world and that "in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Hoffman takes the vial and warns Jacob to be careful with who he talks to. Seriously, when I watch him in a role like this, I wonder why he isn’t a much bigger name and used is big movies. Jesse Williams is equally engaging as Jacob’s soldier sibling suffering from PTSD, even though he doesn’t feature in nearly as much screen time. Jacob comes home to find two hooded intruders in his house. As Jacob flees from Esau on his way to Haran, he comes to a "certain place" and lays down to rest for the evening as the sun is setting. Jacob's Ladder is the link between the earth and heaven that Jacob dreams about during his fleeing from his brother Esau. Jacob's Ladder is a path that leads from earthly demons to heavenly peace. I mean, why not? I’m comfortable generalizing the unfair critical consensus as being dominantly related to remake fatigue, in this case exacerbated by a sudden declaration that “Jacob’s Ladder” is somehow sacred ground. This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”. Between “Almost Human” on the TV side and “The Intruder” (review here) on the cinema side, Michael Ealy is practically a poster child for a reliable actor often tied to unremarkable projects. A second mystery surrounds “Jacob’s Ladder,” but that one is easier to solve. Jacob’s mind unravels further when he sees photographs and other evidence confirming he and his brother somehow switched places. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Why would it take three years for a finished film to finally find a release date? Jacob flashes back to fighting his brother when Isaac gave a drunken speech at Jacob’s wedding about Jacob stealing Samantha from him. Although it bounced back to 2.7 as of this writing, that number sunk to 2.2 by the end of the 90 minutes it took to watch the movie. Jacob says he thinks people are getting killed over the drug and he wants to know where it comes from. The second attacker says, “better keep your mouth shut” before disappearing. Proud member Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Jacob asks Hoffman about the vial. Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2 – Netflix Review. It’s the case of a remake first written in 2013, shot in 2016, test screened in 2017, then delayed repeatedly until a DISH Network dump in 2019. We use cookies. - Terms of Use - Privacy Policy. I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. Paul mentions discovering a “ladder” when he joined other PTSD-afflicted veterans who built a community in abandoned tunnels underground. The hooker, who knows Jacob, gives Jacob an injection of HDA and transforms into a winged angel while they have drug-addled sex. But another thing I remember is being bored. It’s the case of a remake first written in 2013, shot in 2016, test screened in 2017, then delayed repeatedly until a DISH Network dump in 2019. At least “Jacob’s Ladder” doesn’t have a problem with its performers. Also, Jeff Buhler wrote on the movies The Prodigy (2019) and the upcoming The Grudge which will be out in 2020. Go figure! Jacob’s Ladder is out on Netflix in the US and Canada from December 22, 2019. Jacob then follows his brother back underground and stops him from injecting HDA. For one, he wrote The Midnight Meat Train (2008) which is pretty obvious when watching this movie since it also features a lot of subway areas. I was really looking forward to this, but I know it’s been siting a a shelf for quite some time which is rarely a good sign. One exchange has Jacob telling his best buddy, “as a trauma surgeon, I have no official opinion.” Said buddy replies, “as your pharmacist, I have no clue what you’re talking about.” You know, exactly how normal people speak when referencing themselves by profession for the audience’s benefit. A former military medic still haunted by memories of his brother Isaac dying in Afghanistan, Jacob Singer currently works as a doctor treating fellow veterans afflicted with PTSD. What I remember most is that Siskel and Ebert gave the movie “two thumbs up” and it was a rare horror-adjacent VHS available at my local library. An addicted veteran from the tunnel confronts Jacob at the hospital. I’ll call it “quiet horror.” Too quiet, in fact. Jacob returns home, apologizes to Samantha, and promises to get mental help. This 2019 Jacob’s Ladder is more of a re-imagined updated version than a remake. Paul escorts Jacob into the subway claiming he can show Jacob where his brother Isaac is. this is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven." Jacob puts the unconscious attacker in his trunk and drives to the police station, but discovers the attacker vanished when he gets there. Jacob continues having visions of ghoulish figures while searching the underground tunnels. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Although adult me would undoubtedly feel differently, back then I was more interested in killer puppets and crazy curses. “ Jacob’s Ladder” was over this disinterested teenager’s head and I went the next 30 years never giving it another thought. This Bible story begins as Jacob is sent away from the Promised Land of Canaan by his mother Rebekah when she learns of Esau's intent to kill his brother. Jacob sees his wife mutating and then fights his brother when he perceives Isaac as getting too close with Samantha. Actors do the best they can with formulaic material that’s definitely beneath their abilities. Samantha responds that she doesn’t know who Jacob’s friend Hoffman even is. I loved her in Sleepy Hollow but in this movie her character is extremely underdeveloped. Jacob begins seeing visions of suffering veterans who strangely disappear. Following a flashback of getting Paul killed in an Afghanistan ambush, a junkie hooker resembling Hoffman’s girlfriend pulls Jacob off the street. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Especially when doing a remake, you really should bring something new to the table. In this case, I wish they simply hadn’t. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. Jacob subdues one attacker and unmasks the other to find he has a ghoulish face. Watch the 2019 Jacob’s Ladder on Netflix now!. But a peculiar run-in with Isaac’s old platoon partner Paul widens a rabbit hole in the very fabric of Jacob’s fragile reality. In fairness to its fans, I’ll qualify that I do not share their reverent nostalgia for the 1990 film. The belt buckle on forest-set survival/slashing setups is fixing to burst and blind horror fans in one eye from the force of its flight. Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Don’t miss: Read our review of the Netflix movie How it Ends which was directed by this 2019 Jacob’s Ladder director >. Then again, in the bigger picture of the movie’s mediocrity, I can afford the film some forgiveness, as even in its deepest nadir it is more bland than bad. Overall, it was at least entertaining, which I honestly don’t think Jacob’s Ladder was in this 2019 version. Jacob theorizes Hoffman set him up.