Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder Returns in Brand-New 4K Restoration, World Premiere Set for Beyond Fest

Tim Robbins returns to theaters in Adrian Lyne’s mind-bending classic Jacob’s Ladder, newly restored in 4K.

One of the most haunting psychological thrillers of the 1990s is coming back to theaters with renewed intensity. Jacob’s Ladder, directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Flashdance) and penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost), will receive its World Premiere 4K restoration screening at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on September 28. The newly remastered version will then open at the IFC Center in New York on October 3, with a nationwide theatrical rollout to follow throughout the Halloween season.

Restored from the original negative by ROUNDABOUT – USA and supervised by Lyne himself, this 4K presentation reintroduces audiences to the film’s terrifying visual language with unprecedented clarity. The restoration project was overseen by STUDIOCANAL, with Delphine Roussel and Jean-Pierre Boiget shepherding the process.

First released in 1990, Jacob’s Ladder stars Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, a Vietnam veteran whose post-war life begins to fracture under the weight of disjointed flashbacks, demonic hallucinations, and paranoid spirals. As his girlfriend Jezzie (played by Elizabeth Peña) and a spiritual chiropractor named Louis (Danny Aiello) attempt to guide him through his unraveling mind, Jacob descends into a reality that grows more disorienting—and more terrifying—by the minute.

With supporting appearances from a then-rising Ving Rhames, Jason Alexander, Eriq La Salle, and Pruitt Taylor Vince, plus a brief early glimpse of Macaulay Culkin, the film remains one of the most visually and emotionally disturbing portraits of trauma in genre cinema. Backed by a deeply affecting score from Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago), Jacob’s Ladder stands as one of the most influential psychological horror films of its era, inspiring everything from Silent Hill to The Sixth Sense.

The film’s return to the big screen comes with a newly produced theatrical trailer and one-sheet poster in support of the release. As horror audiences increasingly turn toward archival genre gems and experiential cinema, this restoration couldn’t be better timed. With Halloween around the corner and mental breakdowns more resonant than ever, Jacob’s Ladder is poised to disturb a whole new generation.

For more information on the 4K release and theater locations, visit americancinematheque.com and ifccenter.com.