Arcadian

There's a place for shaky, hand-held camera-work. The opening scene to Saving Private Ryan, for example, is a masterpiece. Here, however, it's merely annoying. For much of the film it takes the viewer out of the narrative, as they struggle to work out what exactly is going on. I might add that the shaky camera-work even makes a pointless return for the closing credits.

Set in the near future, when most of humanity has been wiped out by an unspecified cause; and where the few survivors are obliged to barricade themselves indoors during the hours of darkness, as they are under attack from strange alien creatures, the film centres on Nicholas Cage, who lives with his twin teenage sons (Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins) and survive by foraging and subsistence. Another, larger, family group lives a short distance away. Both families keep livestock, which seem to be immune from nocturnal attack, for no apparent reason.

Cage fades from the narrative for a long stretch, and the film is carried by the two boys plus Sadie Soverall as the daughter of the neighbours. All three turn in solid performances, but are done no favours by the tissue-thin (and hole-ridden) plot, listless dialogue and woeful camera-work. Quite apart from the shakiness, it's often difficult to work out what exactly is going on. Yes, most of the dramatic scenes take place in darkness, but there are ways of making it possible to follow the action.

As an aside, a quick check of the the current ages of the juvenile leads, compared to their on-screen appearance, suggests that this film was shot at least four years ago, and has spent most of the intervening time in post-production hell, as the editors tried to get something coherent out of what they had. I presume they did their best.

The creatures themselves are great when they're unseen or only hinted at. When they make a fuller appearance, however, they're very disappointing.

A watch-and-forget film.

Fair warning to all Nicolas Cage fans: contrary to what the poster may lead you to believe, he is NOT the lead. And he does NOT have any crazy-Cage moments. Even so, Arcadian is still a solid horror flick.

When it comes to these types of low-budget isolation movies with tiny casts, they frequently don't have enough substance to warrant the runtime. Not enough happens to make it entertaining. But that's not the case with Arcadian. There are lots of intense and suspenseful moments.

It does a great job with the horror elements and designs. There are a few highly memorable scenes with maximum creepiness. And the whole cast gives good performances.

Not everything works and there are a few flaws. And it doesn't reach the level of recent Cage hits Dream Scenario and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. But I think genre fans will have a good time with this one.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday 4/11/2024)

Don't watch this move right after you eat something. The super shaky camera work could make you sick. 5 minutes into the movie I could not bear it. Just too uncomfortable.

The story line is easy and straightforward: people try to stay alive after some sort of apocalypse.

What is missing from the movie is the horror and the family dynamics. You either make the move very scary or you focus on the family and the bonding. Or make both the focus. However, this movie does not have enough either. Turns out the movie becomes boring and losing focus. So people can easily predict what's to come in the next 3 minutes.

It could be much better if they add some mysteries to the creatures. What causes the apocalypse is not that important to me.

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.

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.