Tags:
Film: Arcadian
Year: 2024
Director: Benjamin Brewer
Writer: Mike Nilon
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jaedan Martell and Maxwell Jenkins
Review:
This was a movie that my buddy, who isn’t a horror movie fan, asked me if I heard about. Charlie is a member at the Gateway Film Center so his excitement for this intrigued me to check it out. I caught the last showing before this movie left the theater as well.
Synopsis: a father and his twin teenage sons fight to survive in a remote farmhouse at the end of the world.
We start with what I’m assuming is the world ending. There is gunfire, but we don’t see what they’re shooting at. We’re following Paul (Nicolas Cage) as he navigates the landscape, trying to avoid being seen. He goes into a cave of sorts where there are two babies. They’re the twins from the synopsis. He comforts them the best he can.
This then shifts into the present. The two boys grow up to be Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins). The former is clever and might be a genius. It is difficult though growing up in a post-apocalyptic world as he must teach himself. His brother craves more human interactions. He volunteers at a local farm due to having a crush on their daughter, Charlotte (Sadie Soverall). This causes him to be late as they need to be inside before it is dark.
Paul and his sons secure the house. Once done, they settle in to have dinner. They then need to go about entertaining themselves. We see that the brothers butt heads and Paul does what he can to calm them down. They get spooked when something tries to break through a door. Thomas is annoyed that Joseph doesn’t help. It turns out though, he was recording the attacks. There were three. The first one was assessing durability. The second to get in and when asked about the last, it seemed to be frustration.
Things all change when Thomas takes too long to leave. In his haste, he falls and becomes trapped. There isn’t time to get out before dark so he must bunker down. Joseph is also late due to the vehicle he put together having issues. Paul can’t leave Thomas out there, so he goes out to find him. Joseph also has a plan to capture one. Tonight start a series of events where these creatures that come at night might be smarter than they realize.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that even though this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a story like this, I’m still a fan. This does well in setting up our world. It is a rural setting, so we know that means limited people to start. We have Paul doing what he can to keep himself, his sons and their dog alive. Nearby is the Rose farm, where there are the parents, played by Samantha Coughlan and Joe Dixon, their daughter and helpers surviving. This was reminiscent of A Quiet Place. That had the gimmick of needing silence though.
Let me then shift over to the creatures. This is something that we get interesting aspects about, but I want more. There is dialogue that felt like a poem that these creatures came after humanity due to pollution. I’m not sure if that’s true, but these things look like trees. We only get glimpses at first and then as this goes on, we get more. I’ll be honest, they look to be done with CGI. It wasn’t great. I would have preferred a practical approach, but I can’t fault them either. There’s a point where it looks like they swallow a character. They also move their head fast where it vibrates before attacking. These monsters aren’t explored, but I think that’s because our characters don’t know. We only get what they figure out so I appreciate that. I’d be good with a sequel to learn more. Something to share, these things bring cockroaches with them which made my skin crawl.
I’ll finish with filmmaking. Even though I want practical effects, the cinematography and framing were good. They give quick glimpses until later in the movies. That helps to hide them. It also allowed my imagination to fill in what I thought I saw, which was good. There is solid blood and effects for wounds that happen. That worked for me. I thought the sound design was good to help ramp up tension. This world is also dreary so credit to them as well. Being filmed in Ireland was well done to capture the countryside. No other issues.
All that is left then is acting. Cage was good as this single father doing what he can to raise his two sons the best that he can. We see that he’s afraid, but he also has confidence to keep the boys from getting freaked out. As a father, I commend that. Martell works as the smarter of the two. He comes up with plans and works on technology that is available. I like Jenkins as the one that craves human interaction. Soverall and him are cute together. I like Coughlan and Dixon as the farm owners who have more. With the state of the world, they must worry about themselves, making it difficult to share. I thought the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this movie for what it is doing. It isn’t the most original. I can think of a couple movies that I’ve seen in the last few years that are similar. Having the creatures come at night is good. There is something about having the safety of daylight and as it is sets, fear grows. The acting was good across the board. I thought this was well-made with credit to the cinematography, framing and sound design. I didn’t love the CGI used, but the practical effects were good. I have a bad feeling that this movie is going to get forgotten though. It doesn’t do a lot to stand out. That’s not to say it is bad by any stretch. If you like these types of movies, I’d recommend it.
My Rating: 7 out of 10