Exclusive Jacob’s Ladder Clip Teases Mind-Bending Terrors

The original 1990 Jacob’s Ladder is considered by many horror fans to be one of the most perplexing films of the genre, setting the bar for this year’s remake quite high. From director David Rosenthal and writer Jeff Buhler, the film shifts focus from a Vietnam vet coping with the after-effects of Agent Orange to a soldier who returns from Afghanistan and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, leading him to question his reality. Ahead of the film landing on VOD and in select theaters on August 23rd, we have an exclusive clip which sees Jacob (Michael Ealy) reuniting with a figure from his past, or who is possibly a mysterious stranger.

In the new film, Jacob Singer is getting his life back together after his brother is killed in Afghanistan. Jacob has a beautiful wife, a newborn child and a successful career as a surgeon in a VA hospital. When a stranger approaches Jacob and reveals that his brother is actually alive and living in an underground shelter with other homeless vets, Jacob’s life starts to unravel. He begins hallucinating, believes he is being followed by violent attackers and becomes paranoid about the truth of what really happened to his brother. When he discovers that his brother is alive and addicted to an experimental drug, he uncovers a secret he never could have been prepared for.

Given Jacob’s fractured psyche in the film, Ealy was constantly depicting a frantic character, requiring him to emotionally exhaust himself while shooting. The performer previously detailed to ComicBook.com the toll this took on him.

“I think with Jacob’s Ladder, if we did our jobs, you fall into this world with Jacob and it just won’t let you go,” Ealy revealed. “Just like it won’t let Jacob go. For me, this was, I would say, top three shooting experiences, in terms of making a movie. And I think because we did it independently, we really had the freedom to take risks. And for me, I had the utmost support from our crew and the director and the producers to go wherever I needed to go.”

He added, “And it was the most draining project I’ve ever done. I have never finished a movie and felt like I did at the end of this one. I could not have been more exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. I typically go away after every movie, but this one was like, I just told my wife, ‘I’ll see you when I see you. I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone. I just need however long it takes.’”

Jacob’s Ladder hits Video On Demand and select theaters on August 23rd.

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