238 - Jacob's Ladder (1990) & Overlord (2018) →
CW: PTSD, Rape
It’s Memorial Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey honor our nation's fallen military personnel by watching two movies with very different vibes all about military experimentation on human bodies. Don't worry—it's not all a downer.
Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!
The Classic Film: Jacob's Ladder (1990)
"Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death” (IMDb.com). Jacob's Ladder is some important and heavy stuff, but that doesn't give it a free pass that its message and its context are almost completely divorced from one another, leading to a dilution of both.
The Modern Film: Overlord (2018)
"A small group of American soldiers finds horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day” (IMDb.com). Overlord isn't much of a thinker, but it's consistently exciting and engaging for its entire runtime.
Audio Sources:
"Jacob's Ladder" (1990) produced by Carolco Pictures
"Overlord" (2018) produced by Bad Robot & Paramount Pictures