Capsule Review: Arcadian (2024) – Cage and His Younger Co-Stars Overcome This Heavily Flawed but Tense Creature Feature
The idea of having Nicolas Cage in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror in Arcadian sounds potentially engaging. The setup is a familiar one: We learn the world suffers from an unknown catastrophic event. Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his teenage sons, Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) are among the survivors living in a farmhouse. They can only spend their time outside during daylight but by night, they will barricade themselves back home because of an unseen terror lurking in the dark. This terror in question comes in the form of a mutated creature. Not one but many of them out there preying on human victims.
When Thomas fails to come home one night, Paul sets out to find him while Joseph stays on guard inside the farmhouse. This leads to one of the most unsettling scenes in the movie. A sneaky scene, to be exact as director Benjamin Brewer, who co-directed Cage in The Trust and also served as a lead visual effects artist for the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, combines partial creature reveal with escalating suspense and tension.
Earlier in the movie, Michael Nilon’s screenplay spends considerable time emphasising the character traits played by Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins. Paul is a stern but caring father and Cage does a good job of portraying a no-nonsense paternal figure. Joseph is a smart and level-headed teenage son while Thomas is more of a temperament and rebellious type. The latter loves to spend time with the neighbour’s daughter, Charlotte (Sadie Soverall in a decent supporting turn). Both Martell and Jenkins are equally adequate in their respective roles.
Watching Arcadian instantly reminds me of A Quiet Place, where both movies focus on survival rather than delving deeper into the world-building of what, why and how the creatures exist in the first place. The details are scarce, which may frustrate the viewers wanted to learn more about the whole post-apocalyptic scenario.
Personally, the minimalist approach doesn’t bother me at all because Arcadian is more of a genre exercise that wants us to sit back and enjoy the show. Too bad Brewer’s penchant for overly jittery camera work ruins the otherwise thrilling setup of the movie. I get that such a technique is meant to evoke a sense of urgency but it’s annoying to watch, coupled with Frank Mobilio’s mostly dim cinematography whenever it takes place at night. It’s hard to see, let alone immerse in the visual sight of the creature’s attack because of all the shaky cam, aggressive whip pans and blurry effects combined.
The climactic third act, however, does have its moment. We get to see the full creature reveal and the design looks bizarrely unique and intimidating. At one point, there’s a brief but effective chase scene with one of the creature’s movements reminiscent of Critters. The ill-advised camera work aside, the overall creature effects are sufficient for a genre movie that carries a limited budget and the small-scale, better-than-expected cast elevates this heavily flawed Arcadian from mediocrity.
