Arcadian (2024)

Its nice to see Nicolas Cage in a film deserving of his talents. Arcadian is not an exceptional horror thriller but what it does do, is done competently enough to be deserving of praise. It has a serviceable story, that reminds me a little of "A Quiet Place" from 2018. The core premise is not quite the same but the monster effects are similar, as is the rural setting. The tension is ratcheted up nicely as the story progresses. As is always the case with what is essentially a survivalist horror, we know the creatures are going to get in but what happens next is, of course, the interesti…

CinemaSerf

7.0

Jun 20, 2024

OK, so I know I shouldn't have, but I did quite enjoy this. There are some seriously menacing beasties about and so every night dad (Nicolas Cage) has to lock his two sons "Joseph" (Jaeden Martell) and "Thomas" (Maxwell Jenkins) and himself into their home and hope their fortifications hold until morning. No, I didn't say it was original, but it's quite well paced as the loved-up "Thomas" manages to get a bit too close to these nocturnal monsters which causes his father to get injured and requires "Joseph" - the brains of the family (who reminded me the entire time of Dan Radcliffe) to come up…

As a long-time fan of Nic Cage, I went into Arcadian with high expectations. The trailer was intriguing, hinting at a familiar story with potential for new and exciting directions. However, the film felt like two different movies in one. While I enjoyed both aspects separately, they didn't blend well together. The film starts with a grounded, realistic tone that sets up an engaging story. Nic Cage delivers a solid performance, immersing himself in a character that is both relatable and compelling. However, the narrative takes a sharp turn into absurdist territory, introducing elements that…