Too Scary; Didn't Watch - JACOB‘S LADDER (1990)

Episode Date: September 29, 2021

PTSD, an unsupportive girlfriend, and the greatest chiropractor in the world - we're recapping Jacob's Ladder! Tune in to find out how many of us cried while recording this episode.Jacob's Ladder is streaming on Hulu00:00 - Shoutouts03:11 - Episode starts10:28 - Movie intro22:00 - Recap Follow the show: @TSDWpodcast on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes and additional content! Rate Too Scary; Didn’t Watch 5 Stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Emily, Henley, and Sammy. Advertise on Too Scary; Didn't Watch via Gumball.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guess what, everybody? I cried in this episode. Did you cry in this episode, Henley? I know you did. I cried in this episode. I cried in this episode only mainly when we talked about chiropractors. So you guys have a lot to look forward to. But before we get into that, we got to thank some people that make us cry happy tears. And they are our new patrons we got a couple new champions for actors rights they are stephanie madera and kenna shaw pearson welcome we're so glad to have you here fighting for actors rights alongside of us we also have a couple new vessel heads, Brayden Beckstrand and Connie Nichols. Welcome

aboard. Sailing boats and stuff with us out in the open water. Toot toot! Toot toot. That's what a boat horn does. That's what a boat makes, right? Toot toot!

Okay. Next up, we have our newest members of tony fucking colette's inner circle welcome to the collective you are our favorite people in the world we love you so much forever starting now so much um melissa prado dj big pig, can't believe DJ Big Pig joined the ranks. Flora Simons, Charles Hamm, Heather Williams, Katie Cariello, Emily Milligan, Crystal, Helen Rosen, and Ethan. Thank you guys so much for joining us. We're so happy to have you. Next up, we have a couple people who were patrons previously but have now upgraded. And those two folks are Alec B. and Jose Taylor.

We love you guys. Also, we started loving you a while ago. We still love you and we'll continue loving you forever. Honestly, the love never ends. The more love you give, the more love you get. And that is just our motto you can take that to the bank what i'm just saying phrases we just needed we just need a good laugh after the movie you're about to hear about because

oh boy it was emotional you guys coaster for everyone you get the laugh you get the laugh first and the cry second so you're welcome and enjoy this is emily henley and sammy and you're listening to too scary didn't watch Scary Didn't Watch. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Too Scary Didn't Watch, the horror movie recap podcast for those too scared to watch for themselves. I'm Emily, and I'm too scared to watch scary movies. I'm Henley, and I'm also too scared to watch scary movies. I'm Sammy, and I like watching scary movies.

So I watch them them and I tell you about them, do you a great service and we're back after a week off celebrating our freaking Henley's wedding Henley's wedding

Snuck the apostrophe S in there at the last second. It's what I meant to say the whole time, for sure. Oh, man, it really was the best. I had such a good time. It was such an unbelievable weekend. It really felt like so... Everyone told me that getting married would feel

really intense and it delivered. It was an intense feeling all weekend. I just felt like so much love from everyone. And when it was over, I felt like, wait, I want to do it again. But this time I want to like relax. I was so stressed the whole time yeah um it's a lot but it was just because like you know it's like you're just like hosting like a big party for like multiple days with like so many people and everybody wants to talk to you yes everyone everyone's actually looking at you i know that's what tim's mom kept saying she's like usually you can just you know tell yourself well no one actually cares what I look like really but unfortunately for you this weekend that's not true no everybody really cares everybody really cares it's kind of the biggest thing but she looks great which was uh stressful. Thank you. Emily, I have to say, my mom has said multiple times, like since since last weekend, she

was like saying she'll just and like, well, it'll be quiet. And then she'll turn to me and she'll be like, thank God Emily was there. Truly, really was just a little like guardian angel going around like fixing everyone's clothes and getting she got me a safety pin and then she'd be like i'm on it let's get her makeup done doing henley's makeup i feel like everywhere i looked she was just like bam bam getting it done it was great it was amazing it's my favorite thing my yeah technically my mom was supposed to put my veil in my hair and she was stressed about it all morning and then emily was the one who really actually did it at the end of

the day because my mom was just like i don't fucking know how to do this thank god emily hat was there she just like kept saying it and it's so it's so true like seriously also you like did my dress afterwards you did the little bustle thing and you tied my bow up oh that bow I love that bow I saw the pictures you just posted I was like ooh look at that bow it looks great it's a beautiful dress

it really I mean it was my pleasure and it was I kept saying like man I was so excited about this wedding it was like all we had been thinking for fucking two years it was like we just couldn't wait for this wedding and then it was better it like never happens

do you know what I mean? It really exceeded expectations it was genuinely the best weekend of my life expectations were so high but it was like no just kidding it's better because it's with everybody you love and it's the and it's the best. Oh, my God.

And then, Sammy, Sammy, you got to witness me being like it was real touch and go the day of my wedding. Which I feel like happens a lot. That's a real mistake that people make is getting too crazy at the rehearsal dinner. I've seen it time and time again. The only mistake that people make is getting too crazy at the rehearsal dinner. I've seen it time and time again. I've been to quite a few weddings and almost all of them, the bride and groom are hung over on their wedding day. And this was no different.

It was no different. I was so hung over that morning and I really thought I was going to throw up everywhere. I almost threw up outside of the salon. My mom had to drive home to get me a Xanax before my sister got me an insurer. It was like real because I have no tolerance after having a baby. And I knew that. And I've also been stressed and like not eating as much as I should be. And it was just like the whole combination, the nerves, the empty stomach, having like one too many drinks.

And you're seeing everybody and you're socializing with everybody. Like that first night is always a party. And so it's like, how are you not going to, it's all, I'm telling you my advice to any, any brides out there or grooms, anybody having a wedding, pre-order an iv drip

pre-order oh my god for your wedding day best case scenario you don't need it and you just get some extra electrolytes or hey i bet you somebody will somebody in the bridal party some family member somebody's gonna want it for sure an iv drip for your wedding day because i should have looked into that i should have looked i just assumed it wasn't possible in easton maryland Oxford maryland it probably was impossible but um i wish i'd had that on my wedding day that's the only thing but otherwise perfect weekend i pulled my shit together i pulled through and had such an amazing time. Yeah, that night was also perfect. It was perfect.

I took my Spanx off three quarters of the way through the night. I took my Spanx off in the bathroom with our friend Kathleen and Kathleen turned to me and goes, you know you can throw those out, right? And I was like, oh my god, I can.

I just threw them in the fucking trash. Love it. It felt awesome. I took my Spanx off out on the beach with our friend Caroline. We could probably just walk over to this part of the beach and take our Spanx off and nobody will notice. Maybe people did. I don't know. I was having a great time.

That makes me very happy. That makes me very, very happy. We're going to have a reunion in Oxford, Maryland in 10 years. We're going to rent that house again. Can't wait. Perfect. I can't fucking wait. I highly recommend the eastern shore of Maryland to anybody out there.

It was beautiful. Gorgeous. It was perfect. I love you guys so much. I love you so much. I love you so much. I love you so much. Wow. Let's segue into a movie that's going to make us feel really bad. It's going to take that high, high, high that we're riding and knock us down all the way to the bottom.

Oh, that's so great. What a great plan. I don't know what I was thinking. I like accidentally picked this movie and I feel like I made a mistake. The movie is Jacob's Ladder, directed by Adrian Lin, written by Bruce Joel Rubin, starring Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena and Danny Aiello. It is streaming on Hulu. And yeah, I had never seen it i kind of texted a little list of options to you guys and henley was like jacob's ladder i've always been curious

and i think yeah you are probably gonna regret it um but this one just was recently requested um it's been requested a few times but it like got re-requested and it's so it like put it back in my mind and i was like yeah it's i've never seen it um i really really liked it um but it is of the type of horror that we we talk about and we always have to mention evan who likes horror that just makes you feel like shit oh no like i just felt very sad watching this the whole time um it has a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes

a 62% on Metacritic and a 7.5% on IMDB I feel like it's rare that IMDB is the highest rating kind of unusual yeah very rare um the budget was 25 million and the box office 26.1 million so just uh

squeaked ahead there yeah real close one barely making a little profit um what do you guys know about jacob's ladder what do you guys know about jacob's ladder i think that i think i don't know how i know that it's really fucked up i just feel like i i know that and maybe it's one of the movies that i saw like the cover of in blockbuster growing up because it's what year did what year was it made again 1990 yeah 1990 it's um i know that it's a man struggling with ptsd and i think he was in vietnam and um that's that's all i know and and honestly any movies about vietnam really scare me no matter what yeah that's there that's just a terrifying topic in general i think this movie has the three scariest things in life, which are war, losing a child.

Sorry, Henley. No, fuck. Unknowingly, you stumbled into this one and not trusting your own mind. Cool. Cool. Not trusting your own mind. Mm-hmm. Cool.

A real feel-good, a real combination of feel-good little things there. Yeah, I don't know anything about this movie. It is a title I've heard many times, but I don't think I know, like, literally anything else. But I don't love what I'm hearing. All I knew about it was the ending, which is funny, but I won't say. Oh, interesting. Okay. Well, you will say eventually.

I will say eventually. You better say eventually. It would be crazy if you didn't. I'll see it. I got some trivia for us. In a 2015 retrospective on the film, Tim Robbins said that one of the reasons he thought it didn't do well at the box office was how the film's violent harrowing scenes in Vietnam didn't jibe with the national mood in the fall of 1990 during the run up to the Gulf War, which I thought was interesting. OK.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that watching it left him reeling with turmoil and confusions with feelings of sadness and despair and called it a thoroughly painful and depressing experience. But it must be said, one that has been powerfully written, directed and acted. Okay. I just thought you'd like that. That little teaser um it is also in the 1001 movies you must see before you die so cross another one off your list um or me you guys didn't see it this counts this counts this counts um adrian lynn who is the director turned turned down directorial duties on the bonfire of the vanities so he could direct jacob's ladder and his first choice for the role of jacob singer was tom hanks but by coincidence tom hanks turned down the film so he could be in the bonfire of the vanities, which I thought was funny. They really passed like ships in the night.

Ships in the night. And actors who were interested in playing the leading role were Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Mickey Rourke. And for the role of Jezzy, the lead actress in the film, they auditioned Jennifer Lopez, Andy McDowell, Madonna, Demi Moore, and Julia Roberts. The role eventually went to the very first person who auditioned, Elizabeth Pena. I've never seen Elizabeth Pena in anything else before, but she was really good and she's stunning. Cool. Wow. Just paint a little visual for you i don't know i want to look her up you tell me someone's stunning i gotta see this i

gotta see this let me let me see it um and for all the chiropractor scenes uh direct the director ensured there was a real there's a chiropractor through line in this movie and they ensured that there was a real chiropractor on set who would work with the actor Danny Aiello plays the chiropractor so as to ensure authenticity and

according to Lynn chiropractors often approach him and thank him for going through the trouble of getting what they do exactly right and I will say as someone who loves going to the chiropractor, it did look like exactly like what a chiropractor session was. And just... That's good. Yeah. That's a relief. I appreciated it. Yeah. For a profession that's usually like made fun of and said isn't a real thing, and they're not real doctors, I'm glad that they're getting respect. Well, they're not real doctors. I'm glad that they're getting respect. Well, they're not real doctors,

but that's true. I love the chiropractor. Doctor or not. Some people don't love doctors. I'm just saying a chiropractor isn't one. Do you know what I mean? Our chiropractor audience't one. Do you know what I mean? Our chiropractor audience

is unsubscribing. The whole point is that you don't need to rub it in. So that's all I got. Shall we watch this trailer? I guess. Yeah. I'm so stressed. I'm a little stressed.

Okay. Every day, Jacob Singer goes to work. What's wrong? It's just one of those days. And every day, he wonders what is happening to him. It reads the pressure, Jake. They're like demons, Jess. They weren't human.

What were they, Jake? Can we look at your hand? Yeah, very strange lines. See, according to this, you're already dead. Something's wrong, Jake. They're coming after me. I don't know who they are or what they are, but they're gonna get me, and I'm scared, Jake.

I've seen them, too. Maybe the demons aren't real. He's running 106 feet. This is barbaric. I can get rid of the demons. Who are you? I can block the ladder. Who are you? Where are you taking me?

Where am I? Where do you want to go? Home. This is your home. You're dead. I'm not dead. What are you then? I'm alive.

God damn it it pretty fun stuff no I'm sorry I made a mistake this is gonna be tough also any like hospital stuff really freaks me out I gotta say me too medical horror is really really gross this movie

has everything. Great. Oh my god. PTSD, dead child, medical horror, not trusting your own mind. Something for everyone to enjoy. Tim Robbins is great. You know what I know him best from?

That movie about the hula hoop. Do you guys remember that movie? What? That movie about a hula hoop do you guys remember that movie what movie about a hula hoop yeah never heard of it never heard not ringing any bells it's like it was a i think it was like a tv movie fuck i have to figure out what this movie is i watched it like anytime i had a substitute at a certain point in in um high school and and and i thought it was like a just a silly like tv movie and so i didn't think tim robbins was like a serious actor i thought it was like a just sort of silly like TV movie and so I didn't think Tim Robbins was like a serious

actor. I thought he was like this TV movie hula hoop guy. Yeah. And then it's like no he's like very famous and very well respected. The hula hoop movie is good. Hold on. I gotta see this hula hoop movie. Also that they would show it in the high school classroom seems

I'm curious about what's the point of that And I've seen it so many times Okay what's this movie What's this movie I will say probably my biggest takeaway from this movie was how much I loved Tim Robbins I never have been a Tim Robbins fan and he is So good in this and he's like

So charming and cute and his little Dimples I was like He's really charming and cute Yeah his little dimples. I was like, he's really charming with Tim Robbins. Yeah, I never knew. I famously don't like Shawshank Redemption. So wait, I didn't know that about you, Sammy. How can you hate such a beloved film? I don't hate it.

It's just I don't love it. It's a little overrated. I think it's a little overrated. It's fine. It's yeah, it's just not one that I'll be watching again and again the Hudsucker proxy oh you know what I have seen that I don't know what that is is it a Coen Brothers movie

it might be it's and also it's like like fucking Paul Newman and Jennifer Jason Lear and it's a very good movie but I was like this stupid Hulu movie what the fuck is this with all these people who don't matter and it's like fucking Paul Newman and Jennifer Jason Lear in it. It's a very good movie, but I was like, this stupid Hula Hoop movie, what the fuck is this with all these people who don't matter? And it's like... I think it is The Combrators. I don't know. But see

the Hula Hoop movie. He's holding it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do. I do. I have seen that. It's been a while. I should re-watch it. But I should also re-watch it because now I'm a huge Tim Robbins fan. Great. I'll watch it too. He's really charming in it. It's been a while. I should rewatch it. But I should also rewatch it because now I'm a huge Tim Robbins fan. Great. I'll watch it too. He's really charming in it. It is. It is. It's Coen Brothers and it's also written by

Sam Raimi. Wait, what? Co-written by Joel, Ethan Coen, and Sam Raimi. We should do this as a bonus episode where we all watch it and we talk about it. Go ahead, Zucker Proxy. Well, sorry. I'm going down a rabbit hole of that yeah well let's talk about this movie first

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slash too scary to start bundling with 30% off your first order. Don't forget, that's hellobello.com slash too scary. I used to love back to school shopping so much that I would tell my mom that I wanted to work at Staples when I grew up because I just loved getting all the things that I needed that I would use every day in class. I still to this day have nightmares about showing up in class without notebooks or number two pencils. Really scary stuff. But luckily I wake up and I realize I don't actually need notebooks or number two pencils anymore. But this fall there is something that I will be using every day and would be terrified to be caught without. And that's Raycon's best-selling everyday

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of a podcast. It's only going to take you 10 minutes. It's incredible. So go to buyraycon.com slash too scary today to get 20 to 40% off site-wide. That's right, you'll get up to 40% off everything on Raycon's website when you go to buyraycon.com slash too scary, buyraycon.com slash too scary. of men clearly all very close and friends and then the siren goes off and they are under attack and it's this very hectic very violent scene where you just kind of get glimpses of um people getting shot and stabbed there's bombs going off there's someone who's like all the skin is like falling off of his leg and you see the like bone as he is like being dragged away to the medical tent. And some of the men are grabbing their own heads and screaming like my head, my head. And it's like all happening very quickly.

So you don't like get a good grip on what's happening. But someone starts convulsing and like someone is grabbing their head. And and then Jacob, Tim Robbins is our protagonist, and he is stabbed in the stomach with a bayonet. And as he is stabbed, it cuts to him waking up on a subway train. And now the year is 1975 and he wakes up like stressed and kind of looks around checks his surroundings and sees that he's just on an empty train and he gets off the train and as he's getting off he passes a homeless man that's under a blanket and from under the blanket comes like a tentacle looking thing and he kind of looks at it and then jumps

like off to get off at that stop and is just a little disturbed by that and then at the subway stop there's no exit it's like a a closed subway and so he can't get out and he's stuck and he sees on the opposite side of the of the tracks you know the the opposite um side and so he's like i'll climb over there to see if I can get out that way, which is very stressful. So he looks both ways and climbs down into the subway tracks. And this is all like really gross and dirty. And there is fluorescent lighting and there's like rats and he's like stumbling in the tracks and it's like water, like dirty water dripping down on him. like stumbling in the tracks and it's like water, like dirty water dripping down on him.

And a train comes and he, uh, like kind of freezes in the headlights of the train and then wakes up again in an apartment. And, um, there's a woman there. This is Elizabeth Pena. Her name is Jezebel.

He calls her Jezzy. And I think he says something like, oh, I just had like a weird dream. And she comes over and they kiss. It's clear that they're together. But there is some mention of his wife. And he is recently separated and jesse is um not happy to hear the wife being brought up or something she's like oh like you're always talking about your wife like it's over between you guys jesse is not a very good girlfriend a good partner to a Vietnam vet. She is very unsympathetic. So she says something came for you. It is a package

of photos from one of his sons brought it over. And he says, oh, which one? She's like, I don't know. You know, I can't tell them apart. Like she's like just a bitch about everything about his family. So he has two sons and a wife that he has estranged from recently estranged from it seems and he pulls out the photos and he's looking at them and he is looking very um lovingly and his little dimples are just like he's like so happy look you got his kids and this is where i started falling in love with Tim Robbins. And then, so his sons are brunette. And then he pulls out, he finds a picture of a little blonde boy. It's actually a young Macaulay Culkin.

Oh! Who is uncredited in this film because this is pre-Home Alone. But he sees this photo and he just starts he starts crying and he like is wiping his eyes says oh that caught me by surprise jesse comes over and says like what what happened and he's like oh the this photo of gabe i wasn't expecting this to be in here and so we're gathering that this son has, or I think she actually says this is the one that

died. And he says yes. And she gets angry, grabs all the photos, and puts them in an incinerator in the hall. First of all, what apartment buildings

have incinerators? And she says, I don't like things that make you sad. And it's like, okay, what? Lady, you cannot burn his family photos. He keeps the one of his of Gabe and puts it in his wallet, but it's just a really

wild thing to do. Huge move by Jez Jessie. Huge! Oh my god. Jessie coming out swinging. Jessie, this is too much. This is a little much, Jessie. Tone it down. Hey, Jessie, could you

just turn it down? Just a bit. Just a little. Then we're learning a little bit more about him he is he is now a postal worker um and him and jesse met at the post office um they're just kind of a scene of them at work together and um then after work he goes to his chiropractor. The chiropractor's name is Louie. And this is where we're getting. And we're told that he's not a doctor.

He comes in and gives that disclaimer. That's his first line. Yes. Not a doctor. Not a doctor. Not Dr. Louie. Just Louie. But you can call me Dr. Louie.

You can call me. But you shouldn't um but this is where we get our very realistic chiropractor scene it really made me want to go to the chiropractor have you guys ever been no once it scares me back thanks it scared me as well um at first and then i went once and you know when you like overcome a fear and then you like love that fucking thing like that oh yeah that happened to me with um giving blood as well i was very scared to give blood and then once i did it i was like oh that was not so bad and now i love giving blood i don't know i do like a one thing to do 180 um i can't do it anymore now

because i was in england during mad cow disease and mad cow disease can lay dormant forever. Oh, cool! So I stopped. I didn't know that! Wow! I know, isn't that so when I found that out I was so stressed. I rolled the dice! Okay! If it could lay dormant

for like 50 years I would be like, man I'd be so mad if I'm like 50 and I all of a sudden have mad cow disease. I would suck. I would fucking suck. I would be like man I'd be so mad if I'm like 50 and I all of a sudden have mad cow disease I would suck I would fucking suck I would fucking suck oh god anyway so the chiropractor is like that for me um and uh it's clear that he has a close relationship with this chiropractor. And after the chiropractor, he is heading home and a car starts following him and then speeding up behind him. And it's clear that this car is like trying to hit him. And he starts doing like zigzags, which I feel like must be like a war tactic thing. I remember there was a big outcry in Game of Thrones when that one kid didn't zigzag when he's running from someone with a bow and arrow. Do you guys remember that?

You got a zigzag. So if you're running from an alligator. Oh, good to know. Some Florida. They can only see directly in front of them. And I have not verified that. It could just be total bullshit. Also, it's not very likely that you'd be running away from an alligator on land.

They're they're lazy, but and slow. But zigzag. That's a it's a good to know. Nonetheless. Yeah. But so he is able to dodge them and he kind of tucks into a corner and they drive off. And as the car passes him, he sees the faces in the window are not human looking. They're kind of distorted, featureless, almost faces.

They're very spooky. And he is way freaked out. and he is way freaked out um and he goes to i think the the va office to see his regular doctor because he's kind of having a bit of a freak out and it's clear that he like needs some help needs to talk to someone and he said he goes in to the front desk and says you know i'm uh jacob singer i'm here to see doctor whatever this time a real doctor and and they say who's that we don't we haven't heard is he new here he's like no i've been coming here for um for years and they're like okay what's your name and he says jacob singer and the receptionist like goes to check the files she's like no sorry no jacob singer here and he's like what like what do you mean like that's ridiculous i've been coming here for like four

years regularly and she drops the file and leans down to um pick it up And her little hat falls off. And we see a bone protruding from her scalp. And he recoils at this. Like he's horrified. He doesn't know what the fuck's going on. And he just runs to where he knows the doctor's office is in the building. And opens the door. And there's some sort of group therapy session happening in there. None of them are his doctor.

And they all turn to him and look like very sympathetic and it's clear that he's like really really freaked out and like the doctor in there like stands up and like slowly approaches him he's like it's okay it's okay breathe it's like oh my it's gonna like make me cry it's just like so sad to have this like ptsd and like and everyone around being like oh very like sympathetic to it oh it was yeah it's it's it's very sad like he's so freaked out and this doctor is like it's okay it's okay like breathe like let's let's go outside and talk and he's like this is my doctor's office and he's like oh is this was this your doctor says whatever the name is dr charlie or whatever and he says did nobody tell you he he died last month and oh what and uh jacob is obviously

very distressed to hear this and um asks what happened and the guy says you know i'm not really sure i don't know all the details but i know it was a car accident and I think his car exploded and Jacob is very you know confused by this still doesn't know what's going on what's happening and uh he goes to a party with Jezzy that night they're like at a friend's party and he's like trying to have a good time, but he is still very much, you know, on edge. And at first he, he's like getting a drink and talking to people.

Jazzy's dancing. And a woman comes up to him or there's a palm reader at the party. And someone says like, Oh, Jacob, like go get your palm read. And he sits down with the palm reader. And she says, oh, this is so funny.

Like your lifeline says you're already dead. And they like laugh about it. This is a fun time. We're all having fun. But he does kind of laugh it off as a joke and heads into the main room of the party where everyone is dancing and kind of the flashing lights and the loudness of the room start to overwhelm him. And it becomes this like quick cuts of all of a sudden we're seeing things that don't look human. Like again, there's tentacles and he can't quite make out what's happening, but he's clearly having this like sensory overwhelm where he's seeing Jesse dancing and everyone's dancing like really,

really sexually all of a sudden. And it's like tentacles and people like grinding on tentacles. And he like completely freaks out and collapses and just starts screaming like in the middle of the party and uh jesse takes him home and the first thing out of her mouth is god i've never been so mortified in my life like are you joking me like you just really embarrassed me i'm just like jesus christ jesse take a freaking hike get out of here jesse tone it down um and but as she is like yelling at him for embarrassing her by having a fucking ptsd flashback or whatever he she notices that he looks obviously bad and puts her hand on his

head and takes his temperature and he has a 106 temperature which is very dangerous and she calls the doctor sorry for yelling and they like the doctor tells her like oh there's no time for him to come to the hospital. Like you need to get him in an ice bath right now and I'll come to you. And so she turns into like panic mode and starts like banging on neighbors doors. Like, do you have ice? Do you have ice? And running a cold bath. And he's very out of it. And she has to kind of get other neighbors to come in to help her drag

him into the bath and they they throw him in this cold bath and are dumping ice on him and he's like screaming and they have to like hold him down it's like really intense and upsetting and then he wakes up in another bed with his wife and turns to her and says, oh, I was just having this having this dream that I was having an affair with a woman named Jezebel. And the wife kind of refers, he calls it a nightmare. And then she kind of like makes a joke like, oh, I thought you said it was a nightmare it sounds like you had a like beautiful girlfriend and they like have a nice relationship they hug and and she like cuddles him and and then in comes little macaulay culkin gabe and says like i just i just had a bad dream like daddy can you help me go back to sleep and it's like this very nice moment uh that he he gets up but he just looks so happy it's so sad

oh it's just making me feel so fucking sad but yeah this is clearly um a very happy moment for him. He takes Gabe back to bed, tucks him in, reads him a story. And his other two sons are in the room, too. And it's like a very picturesque family little evening. And it's just very clear that he's very happy here. And then he wakes back up in that in that ice bathtub. No, no, thanks. And the doctor is the doctor is there now.

And he's like, oh, you like gave us quite a scare there. But you're OK. You're going to make it. okay you're gonna make it also in here is intercut with some of the vietnam flashbacks of him being lifted on in a um helicopter to the medical tent um so presumably right after being stabbed but then he comes back to the ice bath and he just has this kind of look of like emptiness like he misses his family and and then i'm just gonna cry i know i'm like cry this whole podcast i'm like slightly hung over and i really i'm gonna have to force myself not to cry because if I start, it will never stop. Oh, no. It will stop.

Oh, no. We can all just cry the rest of the time. This will be the podcast where we all just cry the whole time. And then we see the next day he's gotten a bunch of books on demonology. He's gotten a witch's Bible. He is trying to figure out what the fuck is happening to him because he's seeing things that he says are not human they're like he describes them to jesse as they're like demons i don't know what's happening jesse's again rolling her eyes at him

being like well what like what do you think's happening like and he is very engrossed in the books and kind of ignoring her while she's trying to talk to him about something and she like gets in his face and says like hello is anybody home and he sees her with like black eyes and pointy teeth and he pushes her and he like gets scared and jumps up and he's like ah and pushes her back and she's back to her normal self and is like fuck you like get the fuck out or she maybe she leaves and so they have like a big fight because obviously yeah it's not okay to push anybody this one you're allowed to react yes that was an appropriate reaction jesse and uh at that moment the one of his old platoon mates calls him a man named Paul and says, can we meet?

And so they meet at a bar in town. And this is the guy from I don't know if you guys ever saw Identity, but this actor can do this thing with his eyes where they just rapidly shift side to side and it's so unsettling and so perfect that he is an actor and i feel like he always plays this kind of role because if you can do this with your eyes why would you not be like a tortured like character because it's just uh he it's it's yeah it's a really captivating thing. Whenever he's in something, I'm like, ooh, that guy with the eye thing. And he describes to Jacob that he has been seeing demons. Somebody's been following him. Men in cars are following him. He's like, I feel like I'm going crazy. Like, I feel like I'm going crazy. And Jacob is obviously very relieved to hear this. He's like, oh, my God, me too.

The same thing's happening to me. Like something happened to us. And they kind of get some relief in knowing that someone else is going through the same thing. And so they're kind of like, OK, we're going to figure this out. And I think they're going to go drive to talk to the other guys that the surviving members of their platoon. And, um, so they,

they leave the bar and Paul gets into his car and Jacob sees a quarter on the ground and stops to pick it up and says, Oh, my lucky day and reaches for the quarter. The quarter disappears and he like furrows his brow and realizes something is not right and turns and sees Paul in the car, smiling at him. And then the car explodes.

Okay. Great. We heard that another doctor's car exploded as well so now we're realizing somebody's intentionally you know putting little bombs exploding cars with people in them but but did paul smile at him like knowingly or smile at him like innocently i think they're like oh we're excited to like go find the answer of what's happening to us. Oh, Jesus. Yeah.

Jesus. So then at the funeral for Paul, the rest of the platoon mates are there. And some of them are saying, you know, that was no accident. They're suspicious of what happened. Some of them are saying, you know, that was no accident. They're suspicious of what happened. And Jacob mentions, you know, we had been talking about how we were seeing things. We were both seeing things and we see kind of looks of recognition come across the other men's faces as well. And it seems like they don't really want to talk about it.

And one of them has like a single tear coming out of his eyes and it's like oh it's gonna make me cry again i'm just like it's yeah it's very sad but it's clear that something bad happened to all these men in there that someone says like what happened to us that day like something happened that day and we need to um figure out. So they band together and decide to get a lawyer because they want to, like, confront the army and figure out what happened to them. And the lawyer that they go to is Jason Alexander, a.k.a. George Costanza. Oh, wow. Okay. And it's Tim Robbins is

six foot five, and Jason Alexander is five foot five, so their scenes together are like, he's just, Tim Robbins is just huge. It's crazy. I mean, he's bigger than... Six five is very tall. Six five is very tall. He towers over everybody in this movie. It's,

yeah, it just really stands out. bigger than six five is six five is very tall he towers over everybody in this movie it's it's um yeah it just really stands out um but so they kind of they come to george costanza and say we need you to represent us and he's like okay he's like okay wait i'm also just laughing because Silas kind of looks like George Costanza. He has the same hair pattern. He just needs glasses and to be like outraged. He just needs glasses and to be a little more flustered. Yeah. Okay, great.

Perfect. I'm picturing. I'm back. Halloween's coming up. No, it's a great idea. Do you think they make George Costanza costumes for babies? 100% I'm sure they do. Oh, they must.

They would be missing out on a huge market if they did it. Yeah. If it's not happening, we're doing it because we're going to be so rich. Oh my God. So the lawyer says he'll look into it, but quickly, like the next day,

says he's not doing the case. Tim Robbins goes to confront him about it, is like mad, hears that the other men have all also dropped out. He gets the impression that someone has intimidated them because he calls them and they're like, no, like we can't do this. We're in over our heads like you should drop it, too. And so he goes to confront the lawyer and he says that he looked into their platoon and none of them were ever in battle. They were all dishonorably discharged or something like that.

Like something he's like, you lied to me and you this didn't happen. And Tim Robbins is like, no, no, no. Like, that's the lie. Like, they're covering something up. Something did happen. But George Costanza wants nothing to do with it and it's like no i'm out of here and as tim robbins is upset kind of on the curb outside of the courthouse or whatever he gets abducted by the men in that same car that was that was

chasing him down earlier they They pull him in. Their faces are normal now. They look like normal humans. And they are just being really aggressive with them, saying, we've been following you like you need to keep your mouth shut. And he is able to fight them off. And as they're like driving, he gets the door open and jumps out of the car like does a little tuck jump so he's able to get away from them but in the jump

he fucks up his back and he can't move and so he's then just laying on the ground and there's like a Santa Claus that's collecting money and the Santa Claus takes his wallet from him.

And he says, no, that has my picture picture of Gabe in it. And so. No. And he's so sad. No. And then. God. Eventually, somebody finds him and calls an ambulance.

He is taken into the hospital. They're being rough with him. He's saying, I'm in pain, like my back, my back, I need my chiropractor. And they're all kind of, it's like so much commotion. They've got him on a little rolling stretcher thing and they're running him into, they're like, we got to get you into surgery now he's like no it's just my back i just need to to get my chiropractor please and no one's listening to him and they're like well what what happened and he's like my wallet my wallet they're like where's your wallet and he's like santa took my wallet and so he's like looking crazy to them but also they're not acting normal either and then they are running alongside of him with the stretcher like running him theoretically to surgery and they just start running him down like levels as if they're like

spiraling down and down but it seems like there like shouldn't be this many levels in a hospital and as it goes down the levels get crazier um like all of a sudden there's patients like lying on the floor in the hallways, like twitching. And then as it gets lower, then there's cut off limbs in piles on the floor and like blood. And he is seeing all this thing, like what's happening, what's going on.

I need to go home. And someone turns to him and says, like, you are home. This is your home. You're turns to him and says, like, you are home. This is your home. You're dead. And they get him to a lower level, like the bottom level. And they start operating on him.

The surgeon doesn't have eyes. And it's like all very scary. He's so scared. He's so scared and I think eventually passes out and wakes up in like a hospital room post surgery. And his chiropractor bursts in, Louis bursts in and says, like, what is going on? Like, this is you guys are what are you doing? Like, this is ridiculous. And basically just takes him out. And the nurses are like, you can't take him. He's like, I'm taking him.

Louis just pulls Jacob, gets him out of there, and takes him straight to do the chiropracting. And... You can't trust doctors. You can only trust chiropractors. The true doctors.

The true doctors. What do we say? Feels like you can't really say that. And he's Jacob's confiding in Louie, basically just being like, I like I don't know what's happening. People like said that I was dead. Like, I'm scared. I don't know what's going on. like said that I was dead. Like I'm scared. I don't know what's going on. And I feel like I was just in hell. Like I'm pretty sure that I was, I saw hell.

I've been seeing demons. And Louis says, 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 And Jacob takes this with him. He's kind of mulling this over. He leaves. And as he's in an alleyway, a man runs up to him and says like, I need to talk to you. And this man,

we have seen a few little glimpses of that. He is sometimes like in the bar with Paul. He was, he was there watching them. Like he's been in the background a few times. So we recognize them, recognize him. Jacob recognizes him too. And he says that he was basically a drug dealer and that he got caught.

And rather than serving jail time, they offered him to make drugs for the army and he said he was making acid and but they wanted to basically create a form of acid that heightened anger and so he did something to to the drugs that made it bring out people's anger and he said we tested it on monkeys and it was like 100% effective and they gave it to your platoon that day and it was 100%

effective but you all just killed each other. Whoa. And at this moment we see that Jacob getting stabbed by the bayonet, his POV. And we see it was one of his platoon mates that stabbed him. Oh, and this is where the title Jacob's Ladder comes from. The guy that he's talking to call the drug is called the ladder.

And he's like, you guys were on the ladder that day um and basically just explains yeah what happened answers this mystery okay so something did happen that gave us this drug this is what happened and he basically says like i'm so sorry i'm so sorry like i've been following you And I just like had to tell you that's what's that's what's happened. And Jacob takes this information and kind of slowly walks to an apartment building. And the doorman recognizes him and says, Jacob, I haven't seen you here in a while. Like, is your wife? No, you want me to tell your wife you're coming up?

And he's like, no, that's OK. You want me to tell your wife you're coming up? And he's like, no, that's okay. And he goes up to his old house. And just Gabe is in there sitting on the stairs. Uh-oh, I'm going to cry. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Oh, wow. It really got me. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. And he just like lays. Oh, no, I can't do it. He like lays in Gabe's lap and just cries and gabe like strokes his head and then they hold hands and they walk up the stairs together into like

bright light i don't know why i'm it's because i'm hungover i'm feeling fragile and they like they like hug and hold each other and walk into the into the light and then we cut to back in um 19 back in 1971 in the triage tent and two doctors over jacob's body saying like time of death this time whatever and they turn to each other and say like he put up quite a fight put up quite a fight but he did look peaceful in the end and that's the end of the movie holy fucking shit holy shit yeah it's really sad but i mean it's really good i I really loved it. But wowie. Really. Woo. Really got me good.

It was at least like a beautiful ending. Yeah. I wasn't expecting that. Wow. It was like a good kind of happy ending. He literally was actually in hell the whole time. Who knew? It was like him like going through his attachments to life and he's got to he's got to um just like let go to be able to pass on

yeah i yeah i i really liked it and the fact that his girlfriend was literally named jezebel i mean i guess we should have seen that coming yeah so thatze when I said I knew the ending I like I knew he was dead the whole time that's the only thing I knew about it because I feel like people refer to it as like I don't know I feel like I've in other movies where in other movies where anyone

is dead the whole time it's like oh just like Jacob's Ladder so I had like heard that being referred to that way what a beautiful beautiful story it's a i'm like it's a need to mull that over for a second yeah yeah i would say you guys probably should not watch it oh also i was texting my friend josh right before i watched it He said he saw this movie when he was seven. No. And every moment I was like, Josh, this movie

is not for seven-year-olds. Uh-uh. Uh-uh. This would ruin me for the rest of my life. Was he traumatized? No, I guess not. No. I don't know. Maybe he must not have been paying attention. I mean, you know how seven-year-olds watch

movies. You're just like... You're in and out. Yeah. I don't know, man. You said there was a place where there were a bunch of limbs sitting around in a pile. Yeah, that's true. I feel like it's pretty hard to not see that. That's true. Wow. I forgot to say that there's

some closing text that does mention that there that there are i don't know if there's proof but it is believed that they did do drug testing on soldiers during vietnam like lsd i feel like i've heard that yeah they did they used uh psychedelics um on soldiers. Did they actually? Because Vietnam is already so scary to me. The fact that they did, they had that's horrifying.

That's horrifying. If that's true. So this trivia said the closing legend of the film mentions the testing of a drug named BZ in Vietnam. BZ is NATO code for a hallucinogen called, I'm not going to be able to pronounce that, but the full name of it,

which was rumored to have been administered to US troops during the Vietnam War in an attempt to increase their combat abilities. Which is like insane to think that a hallucinogenic would increase your abilities to do anything. Like what? No, no, no, no, like what no no no no no no no no but yeah it's very fucked up but that is um part of yeah what this was based on did anyone watch the ken burns documentary on no but i've heard that i should because of i have what is it obsessed

didn't she mary beth barone talked about yes mary bet about it? Yes. Mary Beth Barone did talk about it. Um, I, when it came out, I watched the first episode and it would just, it was too hard to watch only because the reason why we even entered the war is because everyone was made terrible decisions. It's just like everyone made really stupid,

bad decisions and there was no reason for those four to happen at all. And like just the fact that that's so patently obvious from the beginning, I was like, I don't know if I can watch like 30 more episodes about all the destruction and like terrible, horrific consequences of like these insanely stupid decisions people made. Like, I can't. I don't know if I have the stomach for it right now. Yeah. I mean, it's truly like the most horrifying thing in life. Yeah.

More is very scary. The draft is very scary. Sammy, thank you. I feel like you like, even though that movie was really fucked up and it was very emotional, I think it was like a pretty honestly painless retelling. I feel like it could have been worse.

I mean, I really liked it and I'm very glad to have seen it. And yeah, it's one of those movies that everyone has heard of, but I don't know that I would ever have been like, I'm going to watch Jacob's Ladder today had it not been for

this podcast. I'm glad that I can ever have been like, I'm going to watch Jacob's Ladder today had it not been for this podcast. I'm glad that I can finally see it. Wow. There we go. A movie about how chiropractors are the true heroes. Seriously.

Genuinely, though. The chiropractor was like God. I'm not saying they can't be good people. Yeah, they're just not doctors, Emily. We fucking get it. They're just not medical doctors. We get it. Look, I'm not a medical doctor.

It's fine. It's fine to not be a doctor. Are they like on par with an acupuncturist? Or a masseuse? I have no idea. Where do we rank them? Which one's hardest? I feel like chiro...

Which one's hardest? Is that what we're ranking? I feel like chiropractic would be the hardest one. Probably the most training. And maybe acupuncture. I think maybe... I would put it on par with acupuncture. Because like you got to know where you're putting those needles. Yeah, that's true. But you also... You because you gotta know where you're putting those needles

but you also really gotta know where you're you know fucking with that spine crack in the back yeah yeah yeah that's bad that could cause some real damage that's why it scares me it is it's scary but I don't want people touching my spine

it feels really good when they do it right though I bet it does it does feel really good you just gotta go to Sammy's chiropractor. Nah, I won't. No. It's not for me. Fine. I respect the choice in others. Thank you for respecting my choice.

Yeah, I respect you. Okay, and yeah. I feel like I forgot to mention also that this week was supposed to be the night house and I just missed the boat because it was not in theaters anymore. So we'll do the night house eventually. Oh, wow. That's a quick in and out.

Yeah. It's like in some, but they're very far away. And I was like, I'm not driving like 45 minutes to do that. I'll watch something on Hulu. But lots of exciting new releases coming next month. Yeah. Spooky season. Oh season oh yeah this will be our last September episode next episode we'll all be dressed

in costume for 31 days straight dressed as George Costanza 31 days straight yep just as George Costanza 31 days of George Costanza 31 days of George Costanza or we can all dress like Silas.

That's a great idea. 31 days of Silas. No, seriously though, we do need to start brainstorming our Halloween costumes. Yeah, it's crucial. Because I don't know how to beat Sammy's costume last year. It was really fucking good. What was I? So you were the cult leader.

What's his name? I can't remember his name. Keith what's his name it was really good oh man you looked just like him you guys were like twins i look too much like him it scared me to look in the mirror it was scary holiday wait emily what were you last year? I was Robert Pattinson in his sweatsuit. Oh, you were so good. That was good. Damn it. You were so good. So comfortable. I wasn't.

Let me tell you what. Listeners, tell us what you're going to be for Halloween this year. I love Halloween. I do, too. I'm excited. I'm excited. And we love you all. And we love you so much.

Oh, yeah. No voices. No voices. Oh, right. Yeah. All right. Well, it's just a gentle goodbye because this was a this was a sad one. So just a nice, you know, we love you.

Yeah. And from all of us here at Too Scary to Watch. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thanks for listening to another episode of Too Scary Didn't Watch. I'm here to remind you to head on over to Apple Podcasts where you can rate, review, and subscribe if you had as much fun as we did. We're also on Twitter and Instagram at TSDW Podcast, although admittedly not as great about updating our Twitter as we are on our Instagram.

We're also on Patreon at patreon.com slash TSDW podcast. You can sign up for access to things like bonus episodes, bingo cards, send in suggestions, all that type of thing. I think that's it, except for the fact that we love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Okay, see you next week.