The Remake Of Classic Horror Movie Jacob's Ladder Will Tackle PTSD, Writer Says

The remake of the 1990 classic psychological horror film Jacob's Ladder was supposed to be released last month, until it was pushed back to an undisclosed date later this year. Adrian Lyne's film dealt with a haunted Vietnam War veteran who tries to discover a secret from his past by deciphering his own dreams, and over the years it has become a cult classic. This is mostly thanks to a twist near the end of the film that puts everything that came before it in a completely new light.

GameSpot had a chance to catch up with writer Jeff Buhler while he promoted his new film Pet Sematary at SXSW, and we asked him about his approach to the Jacob's Ladder remake and how his script modernizes the classic tale.

"The original has a twist that you can't repeat because without the secret it doesn't have any power," Buhler said. "So we wanted to come up with another twist that could catch people off guard."

Buhler admitted to being a fan of the original film, having seen it many times including when the film was in theaters. He wrote the remake with Sarah Thorpe, and it's said to focus on two brothers coming from the Middle East instead of one soldier returning from Vietnam.

"We tried to focus on the modern soldier's experience returning from war," Buhler told GameSpot. "The PTSD side of it is more prevalent compared to the original, which instead focuses on medical experiments done on soldiers with the use of drugs. We kind of shifted it to something more personal and grounded, which opened a lot of doors in making this story our own."

He added, "It is nerve-wracking because the original is sacred material."

Jacob's Ladder stars Michael Ealy (Underworld: Awakening), Guy Burnet (Ray Donovan), Karla Souza (How to Get Away with Murder) and Nicole Beharie (Sleepy Hollow). It currently has no exact release date but is expected out this year.