‘Arcadian’ movie review: Not enough Nicolas Cage in an effective, bare-bones chiller

A still from ‘Arcadian’ 

Another horror movie featuring Nicolas Cage? Surely, Christmas has come early! Following Longlegs, running in a theatre near you, is Arcadian, where Cage plays Paul, who is bringing up his twin boys Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by photosensitive monsters.

What caused the end of the world is not clear as it happens off screen, with screams and explosions as Paul cradles his twin boys, soothing the grizzling babies with the universal mantra of everything will be okay.   

Fifteen years later, Paul and the boys are eking out a grim existence in a decrepit farmhouse. The twins are not alike in looks or temperament. Thomas is the risk-taker, reckless with his safety and that of others. Joseph, on the other hand, is the thinker and tinkerer, working out cause and effect.

Thomas is smitten by Charlotte (Sadie Soverall), who lives in the nearby Rose farm with her parents. He goes to see her and is late returning, much to Paul’s anxiety. He just makes it back before sundown and the house is locked up against the monsters who gouge the door in an attempt to get in.

Joseph, true to type, listens to the pandemonium outside and deduces there were three attempts on the cellar door before the creatures gave up. Joseph wonders why they did so. When Paul sees Joseph has rigged an off-roader, he teaches him to drive and sends the boys to salvage wood to reinforce the door.

Thomas would rather spend time with Charlotte and so he tells Joseph that he is going to Rose farm and arranges to meet Joseph in the evening so they could return home together. With Charlotte, Thomas does not realise the passage of time, as they play the apocalypse game, where you have 10 seconds to say how the world was destroyed.

Nicholas Cage in ‘Arcadian’ 

Running back to the meeting spot, Thomas falls into a crevice and is concussed. When Joseph returns alone, Paul goes out to look for Thomas and, upon finding him, says they will stay in the cave till daybreak. An encounter with the creatures leaves Paul grievously injured and the boys have to get him medicine and care while fighting off the monsters that are showing a change of tactics.

A spare post-apocalyptic thriller, Arcadian would have benefitted with some filling out. The movie feels like a prologue, with the meat yet to come. It feels like a flashback of another movie or YA show, where we would have wondered about Paul and the reason for the boys’ fractious relationship. It is a shame as we would have liked to see more of Cage, though Martell and Jenkins deliver solid performances and the creatures are quite scary with their horrid snapping mouths.

Ireland stands in for the mythical Arcadia, with lush green fields hiding the rot within. What you see is what you get in Arcadian, and no amount of wishing for more—like Oliver Twist—is going to help.

Arcadian is currently streaming on Lionsgate Play