Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 8, 1990, edition 1 / Page 14
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Page 6 DTH Omnibus Thursday November 8, 1990 CINEMA Lyne takes psycliologieal horror beyond the cliches Jacob's Ladder TimRobbins, Danny Aiello and Elizabeth Pena directed by Adrian Lyne - Plaza 9S7-4737 0000 12 ome here. Let's talk. Forget about philosophy. Forget about math. Let's talk about something I know about. Let's tlk about horror. When you tear away the meat and really get right down to the bone, there are two kinds of horror: interior and exterior. Exterior means something outside of the person is doing the scaring. Most horror films are exterior. Any moron can throw a monster at the camera. Interior happens inside of a char acter. It usually entails a character having mental problems. Jacob's Ladder falls into the second category. Interior horror films are rare and good ones are rarer still. Jacob's Ladder is both. To put it simply, Jacob's Ladder is the story of one man's descent into hell. Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is a Vietnam veteran who is now working 0 HUNAM 5j HUNAM, SZECHUAN& CANTONESE SPECIALTIES SPECIAL CANTONESE BANQUETS BY OUR CHEF FROM HONGKONG DIM SUM (Sat. & Sun. 11:30 am - 2:30 pm) Special Fast Lunch Menu Special Family Dinners Take Out Service-Special Group Delivery Party Facilities ABC Permits Catering For All Occasions Lunch Dinner Mon-Fri 1 1-2:30 pm Sun-Thurs 4:30-9:30 Sat& Sun 1 1 :30-2:30 pm Frl& Sat 4:30-1 0:30 967-6133 790 Airport Road, Chapel Hill Serving Chapel Hill Since 1 980 Sunday Benitoi! at Groofr's if V I I if ' L:l , Innate :00 pmfart,; Sunday Brunch 11:00 - : : 610 W.Franklin St. Chapel Hill, fiC Mike Long for the postal service. He lives with his girlfriend Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena) and has a normal life. Suddenly, he starts seeing strange things, and strange things start happening to him. Are the things he is seeing real? Why does he keep dreaming about his dead son? And perhaps the most important question, are his visions related to an incident in Vietnam that Jacob can't seem to remember? Jacob's Ladder is an incredible vi sual experience. The audience sees everything from Jacob's point of view. It sees the hellish visions just as he does, so it has no way of knowing whether they are real or not. The editing and special effects of the hal lucination scenes are perfectly synched, forcing the viewer to say, "Did I see that?" Adrian Lyne has created a veri table feast for the eyes. He keeps the camera moving, not only to keep the movie's pace up, but to make the audience question what it is seeing. He has perfectly realized Bruce Joel Rubin's script. Perhaps Lyne's great est feat comes during the scenes set in Vietnam. When the fighting starts, the camera becomes a whirling der vish. The scene is full of blurred im- VXA. and university accounts accepted. - ryy ! 'jlf "mmmmmk. .j iiinn.iL.n '" II"""-"BI 1 ini'iwil y,u"W...,.jjjj. -..mi -.. l .i.uu.u. j ILJi I 3 v vj ZN . J Jacob (Tim Robbins) is tormented ages and rapid cuts. I've never been in a war, but I'm sure Lyne has perfectly captured what it looks like. Lyne uses the sights and sounds of Jacob's life to give us a vicarious ride on his journey into madness. Tim Robbins (Bull Durham, Cadillac Man) does an impressive job as Jacob. He doesn't go for the cliched "madman'' performance. This is a man in the middle of a nervous breakdown, and Robbins conveys the situation superbly. His brooding and crying help the viewer to better understand his feelings. Pena is adequate as Jezzie, but she just can't seem to keep her clothes on. Danny Aiello (Moon' struck. Do the Right Thing) brings a bit of light into this dark film as Jacob's chiropractor. He acts as Jacob's men tor and is charming, except when he WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14 SOUTHERN GUITAR ROCK E CAT'S by unknown forces in 'Jacob's Ladder,' a thinking person's horror film pops Jacob's spine (a hard scene to watch). The one flaw in the film is the story. It is purposely confusing at some points, in order to keep the audience guessing, but the confusion grows tedious. It becomes too confusing, and one can't help but wonder if the script's pages got shuffled. The ending (stolen from a famous short story, which shall remain nameless) tries to tie everything up, but there are still a few loose ends. Still, it is a clever story, and one can't help butadmire a script at one time considered the best unproduced script by American Film magazine. At one point in the film, the for giveness of sins is mentioned. Well, Lyne and Rubin have both been for given. After making trash such as C RADLE Flashdance, 9 12 Weeks and the in sufferable Fatal Attraction, Lyne re deems himself with this visual mas terpiece. Rubin, who is still getting cash from writing Ghost, has written a dark and brooding story that works. Who would have thought that these two men could make a great film about going insane? Jacob's Ladder is the best psycho logical horror film in a long time. But be warned.The film is disturbing, and some scenes are hard to watch. Don't take your grandmother orablind date. The ambiguous story also may frustrate those who like to have everything spelled out for them. Also, don't expect to be scared out of your wits. This is a thinking person's horror film, not a cheap "jump-out-of-your-seat" movie. This is the kind of movie that will keep on scaring you long after you leave the theater. m wmm O wait for the video OO go to the dollar theater OOO only pay matinee pries OOOO ? pay full price OOOOO take your sister, tea TV Listings. Pages 12-15. OMNIBUS. ?212W.MalnSt Canfcbro, HO 27510 if CRAFTS ) '4 - ,-( '. ...r..jr r T J i
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 8, 1990, edition 1
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