Jacob’s Ladder is the Velvet Underground of horror movies. Not many people have actually seen it, but nobody who’s ever seen it has ever forgotten it. The entire Silent Hill franchise, especially the first two games, were heavily influenced by it. Directed by Adrian Lyne, known better for Flashdance, and anchored by a great performance by Tim Robbins, not to mention a set of special effects done entirely in-camera, there’s never been a movie quite like it before or since.
So needless to say, it’s getting a remake. Because of course it is.
One of the problems here is that, well, it’s not actually going to be a remake. It’ll be some sort of remake/reboot/reimagining amalgam:
The producers are looking to make something more akin to an homage and not mimic the original. The plan is to contemporize the story with new situations and characters but still maintain a story that examines issues and poses existential questions.
It’s understandable to some degree: The movie is about a Vietnam veteran suffering from terrifying visions that may or may not be hallucinations. Unless they want the movie to center around a guy in a nursing home, they are going to have to make some tweaks.
On the other hand, it also raises the question of… well… why bother? This sounds a lot like somebody actually has a good horror script but can’t get studios to even look at it unless there’s some sort of remake potential attached to it. But it’s hard to see the remake appeal in Jacob’s Ladder, a movie mostly beloved by horror nerds, Adrian Lyne groupies, and the narrow sliver of overlap between the two, all of which will turn their noses up at the idea of a remake anyway. It’s not like teenagers are really into Freudian imagery.
Well, OK, some teenagers are. But we’re not sure that’s who Hollywood markets horror movies to.