‘Arcardian’ Review: A Dark And Enjoyable Take Of A Well-Known Genre (SXSW 2024)

Despite having some epic and some awfully terrible movies, Nicolas Cage is one of the most beloved actors out there and it’s no different here. Nick is back for one more suspenseful and tense film but this time he’s a father of two boys: Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins. In this apocalyptic world, what could’ve gone wrong?

In the near future on a decimated Earth, Paul and his twin sons find tranquility by day but terror by night when ferocious creatures awaken and consume all living souls in their path. When Paul is nearly killed, the boys come up with a desperate plan for survival, using everything their father taught them to keep him alive.

This film ends up being a very enjoyable time for fans of the dystopian genre. It’s solid and decent enough to deliver a tense and agonizing experience for audiences. Starting off with the characters, the chemistry between the three main characters is essential to make this story work and, thankfully, they made it. Despite loving Nicolas Cage, this movie is not his and he’s never been the focus of it. This story is focused on this two brothers and their relation with each other. This is a film about family and about how being selfish can bring you consequences. Nicolas Cage plays the role of a father, he’s not very present in this movie but every time he shows up you get hyped with that Nick Cage energy that is given on screen.

This film does try a lot to be a new type of A Quiet Place but unfortunately is not able to reach that level, however, it still stands as an enjoyable and fun film for fans of the same genre. The CGI is good at times but I think a lot was saved for the creatures design we got, you’ll be appalled when you see the design of the creatures from this film. They’re terrifying, disgusting and extremely creative. One of the best designs I’ve seen for a movie like this in years.

Some scenes are so tense that I must confess one of my favorite scenes of the year is in this movie but I think their biggest flaw was the ending. The ending of this film was mostly nonsense and made you go like “why is he stupid?” and this is the worst thing you can think when watching a movie like this one. The ending tries to rush everything they’ve been building since it started. Everything was resolved so fast and I think it could’ve made it better if we had a little bit more of runtime. But I wouldn’t say this is a major flaw, it’s 92 minutes of nonstop suspense. The perfect movie for a thrilling family night.

Arcadian is a dark, thrilling and exhilarating film that brings incredible performances and chemistry between the characters. A fun, 90 minute, dystopian film with nonstop suspense.

Arcadian is NOW playing in theaters.