Cutter, in an attempt to vindicate the young woman, and also to clear Bone's name, develops a conspiracy theory that fingers J.J. Cord, a prominent businessman, as the murderer. While many people dismiss Cutter's theory as being a delusion, he is proven to be correct at the end of the film. Cutter's Way falls under the category of horror because of the suspense that is built up throughout the film. The audience, like many of the characters, is lead to believe that Cutter is delusional and it is only until the end that they realize he was right all along, and that Cord orchestrated the murders of other people as well. This film is especially successful in emphasizing man as monster. Jacob's Ladder's is representative of psychological horror as the film illustrates, or implies, the effect the Vietnam War had on Jacob Singer, played by Tim Robbins, who is shown being shot in combat at the beginning of the film. Throughout the film, Jacob suffers from hallucinations...

The film is interspliced with footage of him in combat, which also leads the audience to believe that Jacob is suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, which his fellow friends and combatants also appear to be afflicted with. Throughout the film, Jacob struggles to keep a grasp of his sanity, which is complicated when the people he approaches about his dilemma continuously brush him aside or attempt to convince him that he was part of some government experiment. Ultimately, it is revealed that the demons he keeps seeing in his daily life are actual demons that are preventing him from moving on to the other side; Jacob has been caught in a limbo between heaven and hell since he was shot and killed in Vietnam. This film is especially horrifying because given Jacob's past, it is not far fetched to believe that the Vietnam War would have such a lasting impact on him.