In a near future, life on Earth has been decimated. Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his twin teenage sons, Thomas (Jaeden Martell) and Joseph (Maxwell Jenkins), have been living a half-life — tranquility by day and torment by night. When the sun sets, ferocious creatures of the night awaken and consume all living souls in their path. One day, when Thomas doesn’t return home before sundown, Paul chooses to leave the safety of their fortified farm to find him before the creatures arrive. Just as he finds his boy, a nightmarish battle ensues and Paul is gravely wounded. Now the twins must devise a desperate plan for surviving the coming night and use everything their father has taught them to keep him alive.
REVIEW:
With a title like Arcadian I know that this Nicolas Cage semi-vehicle will be about a family trying to survive the monsters of a post-apocalyptic world.
Cage’s daddy exists to instruct his sons on the etiquette of post-apocalyptic monster killing, go into a coma so there’s the need for the highly “precious ” medicine that is reverently mentioned, then revive to be both the kick ass monster beating hero in the end and sacrificial lesson for the smaller mankind to take to the future. Arcadian only has the need for the symbolic Cage.
With Cage gone, Arcadian can devote itself to being a forgiving version of the Cain and Abel story. These kids have to fight through their rivalries, jealousy of first girlfriend, successfully survive their monster killing test to be mankind’s promise and saviors . One looks like Harry Potter, the other like Harry Styles. They are fraternal twins. Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) is taller, mechanically inclined and less mature. Joseph (Jaeden Martell), the Potter clone, is brainy, observant, scientifically bent and shy.
Their relationship is quietly shown and well delineated but at a pace that is probably to leisurely for most horror fans. This is properly a sibling drama. The monsters are just there for horror creds. It would be to sweet and subtle otherwise, a streaming disposable.
The whole plot has a cursory, oblique and rough feel to it. The director, Benjamin Brewer wants the viewers to fill in the blanks in the boy’s relationship and the action beats. Sometimes it’s aptly poetic, emotionally bracing but mostly it’s tinged with dark grief and reticence. Arcadian can feel like attending a funeral.
The monsters are all done with people in creepy crawly costumes. They are suppose to be mutated humans, so the movie gets away with it if the lighting is kept dark and the appearances kept brief and judiciously edited. The mechanical effects are saved for the creature attacks—a hissy fit of rapid jaw movements. Scares are created using silences, pounding and bulging doors and other practical tricks. It’s engaging and creepy enough as long as the focus is on the siblings.
Arcadian gets a 3.5/5 or a B+. It’s streaming on Shudder.
CREDITS:
Directed by
Benjamin Brewer
Written by
Michael Nilon
Produced by
- Michael Nilon
- David Wulf
- Arianne Fraser
- Delphine Perrier
- Braxton Pope
- Nicolas Cage
Starring
- Nicolas Cage
- Jaeden Martell
- Maxwell Jenkins
Cinematography
Frank Mobilio
Edited by
Kristi Shimek
Music by
Production
companies
- Saturn Films
- Redline Entertainment
- Highland Film Group
Distributed by
Release dates
- March 11, 2024(SXSW)
- April 12, 2024(United States)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
Countries
- United States
- Ireland
- Canada
Language
English
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