Short answers, pulled from the story.
Bruce Joel Rubin wrote the script for Jacob's Ladder in 1980 after waking from a dream about being trapped inside a New York City subway station. He turned down offers from low-budget horror producers because he wanted a major studio with deep pockets to fund his project.
Jacob's Ladder opened on the 2nd of November 1990, taking the number one spot at the North American box office. It earned $7.5 million from over 1,000 screens during its opening weekend alone before attendance dropped quickly.
Adrian Lyne filmed the special effects sequences directly on camera by recording actors shaking their heads at a very low frame rate so they appeared to move with horrific speed when played back. The cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball based the dream sequences on paintings by Francis Bacon to create a sense of unease.
Carolco Pictures demanded established stars for the lead roles despite Tim Robbins and Elizabeth Peña auditioning first because they considered Dustin Hoffman, Richard Gere, and Al Pacino for Jacob while eyeing Madonna and Julia Roberts for Jezebel. Director Adrian Lyne insisted on casting Robbins and Peña anyway against studio wishes.
The Silent Hill video game series drew heavy inspiration from Jacob's Ladder starting with the original 1999 release where James Sunderland wears an M-1965 field jacket nearly identical to the one worn by Tim Robbins in the movie. Shinji Mikami creator of Resident Evil also cited the film as a major influence on his own horror projects.