Arcadian

A father and his twin sons have survived the end of the world for fifteen years. As teenagers, the boys have grown into young men and become independent and rambunctious. As they quarrel and go their separate ways one day, their lives are threatened again, and they must fight for survival.

This is a simple end-of-the-world, post-apocalypse survival movie. The story gets straight to the point, giving little to no backstory on the characters or what caused the world's end. There is not a lot of action and a bit of suspense. The runtime of the movie is short. This might not be worth watching in theaters, but it is worth streaming.

Adroitly written dialogue, believable characters, nice special effects, creative enemy design and a coherent, concise story that makes sense. They also did away with a lot of detail for background to put us into the moment. Very much the essence of "less is more" in every scene and it works well. Nothing's missing, and there's just the right amount of what we need to know.

But is it a good film? It's work like this that makes me appreciate how complicated and involved filmmaking actually is. Arcadian is arguably a competent piece of work, but none of it will stay with me. I enjoyed everything I watched along with how it was put together, and yet had I not seen it at all that would have been okay too. This would also not be on my list of recommendations unless it was for a fan of the genre, and even then I would tell them to curb their expectations. There's something about the way it was shot that hurts the movie, and whatever it is reduces an otherwise decent film into something that's rather forgettable.

If you're a fan of the medium and appreciate the artistry I would say this is worth your time. If you're looking to passively enjoy something in this genre there are better options out there.

Unfortunately the direction totally ruined this for me. Camera so shaky I felt like my head was spinning. And when action does happen the camera just turns away. Performances were above average, the kids were pretty good but the effects were fairly poor. I usually love little movies like this but just can't get past the camera work. I swear it was recorded on a bouncy castle.

Soundtrack was nice and Cage is as solid as he always is.

Interesting monster designs but again, we could hardly make out anything we were seeing when they showed up.

Overall had a feeling of "A Quiet Place" but smaller which I can appreciate.

I'd Watch It Again

"Arcadian" claws its way onto the screen with a promising premise: a post-apocalyptic world where a father and his sons fight for survival against nocturnal horrors. Nicolas Cage delivers a subdued performance as Paul, the father desperately clinging to normalcy for his children.

Nicolas Cage is, as always, a compelling presence. His performance grounds the film, even when the shaky cam and creature design falter. The young actors portraying his sons are believable as well.

Overall, Arcadian is frustrating. It has the potential to be a terrifying exploration of survival, but shaky camerawork and underwhelming creature design hold it back.

If you like dystopian sci-fi thrillers, this is a lovely little film. Fans of 28 Days Later and The Monster will appreciate this for what it is - good entertainment. It's not going to change your life, but it's a post-apocalyptic monster movie made with love and a lot of attention to detail.

Nicholas Cage plays it subtle and the mostly newcomer cast are, quite frankly, great. It's bleak, and it's scary enough to give you a buzz. The monsters are really original and the whole thing makes for a delightful little independent movie.

Personally, I hope there is a sequel - the world painted here is worth living in ... provided you bring a shot gun.