Film Review - Arcadian (2024)

Immersive realism and stupendous creature design give this apocalyptic family drama an added bite.

Nicolas Cage plays Paul, a pragmatic survivalist striving to protect his twin teenage sons Joseph and Thomas. Society has crumbled and what remains cowers in fear from the frenzied snapping jaws of vicious nocturnal creatures.

Meticulous safety routines and diligent time management stave off extinction, however, the menace is evolving and teenage hormones are too. Thomas becomes romantically involved with a girl from a neighbouring settlement proving the catalyst for some deadly risk-taking and the revelation that the nasty night stalkers have been hatching a devious plan.

Arcadian certainly lives up to its name in of pastoral setting and earthy homespun narrative. Even Cage adopts a suitably bucolic demeanour as a reserved but capable father whose protective stoicism masks his stern optimism.

Paul suffers a flaming accident mid-way through the film and takes somewhat of a backseat, but Cage fans can rest assured he still finds a way to have one of his legendary screen ‘moments’. It’s an interesting role for him that mirrors his more nuanced performances such as the excellent Pig.

The characters are not as well fleshed out as the slow build-up warrants, but the quality of the acting is strong and the low-key naturalism is refreshing and engaging. The camera work is too choppy for comfort, and the editing is overly aggressive, issues exacerbated by needlessly murky lighting.

At first, I suspected this was due to limiting creature exposure through lack of budget, but no. The impossibly bitey monsters look fantastic in every shot, no matter how much the camera dwells on their horrific form. They are garishly and gangly, manic and primordial, shaking their ugly mugs into a blurred blood lust. It would be comical if wasn’t so goddam nightmarish.

One scene, in particular, is so enveloped in skin-crawling jeopardy it becomes as iconic as any screen monster attack in recent memory. Simplistic in its genius you won’t be able to drag your eyeballs from the quietly unfolding horror.

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn with A Quiet Place, however, Arcadian is a less polished, more authentic beast, and the beasts in question are way, way scarier. It’s also less manipulative and more believable.

When Arcadian slips into full creature feature mode it comes into its own. Inventive and kinetic, things reach a hellish crescendo when the furry fuckers deploy a hive-mind physicality that’s surreal in its anthropological grotesquery.

Dripping with rural menace and a mischievous lack of exposition, your guess is as good as its characters as to what sparked the horrors, this frightening film should enthral fans of elevated horror and monster flicks alike.