A Frustrating Post-apocalyptic Film With A Trashy Camera Work || Movie Review.
I have been anticipating the ’Arcadian (2024)’ movie for a long time since I watched the trailer a couple of months back. When I saw the trailer, It promised a terrifying exploration of survival, but that was not the case.
Note: If you are a fan of Nicholas Cage like me, you will be disappointed because the movie poster insinuates that he is the lead character, but he is not. I guess that was a marketing strategy carried out by the production team.
The last movie of Nicholas Cage that I saw was ’Renfield (2023)’ and I was absolutely impressed with the film and the performance of Cage. So it made sense to me that ’Arcadian’ would also be worth watching. I was highly disappointed and sad.
’Arcadian (2024)’ is a post-apocalyptic action horror movie that the screenplay was written by Michael Nilon and it was directed by Ben Brewer. It is a movie that majorly features a few actors like Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins, Sadie Soverall, Samantha Coughlan, and Joe Dixon.
The opening scene of this movie depicts an end of the world scenario. Paul (Cage) was seen fleeing a chaotic city only for him to get to his shelter and cradle his babies (twins) in order to calm them down from crying more. Fast forward to fifteen years later, Paul and his boys were now living in a remote farmhouse. In this farmhouse, they are safe during the day, but at night live with fear and fight to survive until the next dawn from .
However, something unexpected happened when one of Paul's boys did return home for the night. Paul was worried that something had happened to his son. So he left his other son in charge of the remote farmhouse and went out to look for his other son who didn't return. Did the monster they fear at night get his son? Did Paul find his son?
This movie would have been an upgrade version of the post-apocalyptic film ’Quiet Place’, but it lacked so many things which in the end made this movie a messy work. I don't know what the producing team and the director were thinking when they produced this movie. No proper home and research was done, the directorial style was terrible and frustrating, the plot was underdeveloped, the characters fell flat, the themes that were supposed to explore were obviously missing from the movie and finally there was no background story.
Firstly I will start by appreciating Nicholas Cage for making this movie watchable. If not for him, this movie would not be watchable at all. Nicolas Cage delivered an excellent subdued performance as Paul. He was a compelling presence throughout the movie. His presence and performance made the film a little entertaining and watchable. He was the spotlight for me and from the look of things he carried other actors along.
The actors who acted as Paul's sons were convincing, but their performance was not really grounded, they didn't have any chemistry as brothers and it felt like they were forced to act their roles. Other actors, their characters are not fully fleshed out, and have no backstory to them.
The storyline is something we all have watched so many times. There is nothing new, or unique about the plot. I say, it was generic, easy and straightforward. It is very predictable. You could tell and know what happens next and how the movie will end. Also, some of the scenes in this movie didn't make any sense at all. The world building was weak. How did the creatures come to be? How did it all start?
The cinematography was average, the scene arrangements were okay but still, it didn't make the movie unique. The CGI of the creatures was excellent. I will give them that. One thing that made this movie so frustrating was the camera work. It was messy and untidy. There was constant shakiness of the camerawork that made the movie physically challenging to watch unless you are not prone to motion sickness. All the scenes were just blurry and distracting.
Rating this movie, I will give it 5 out of 10 stars. Nicholas Cage made me watch this movie till the end. In the end, this movie is a forgettable one that won't be remembered anymore. I wish Cage’s talent was not wasted here. If you are into post-apocalyptic movies, you can give this movie a try. It might be a good experience for you, but this is just my opinion and experience about this movie.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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It's a moderate rating. I haven't seen a Nicholas Cage film in years. The apocalyptic theme is already trite. Maybe that's why it doesn't get off to a good start.
You should try to watch 'Renfield 2023' first before this one. You wont be disappointed. There are so many apocalyptic films around. Its always the same storyline. I agree with you it is part of the reason this movie wasn't entertaining. Thank you for the visit and commenting. I appreciate your comment time here.
I felt the same way. If find it very frustrating when directors go for artistic approaches to scenes such as using strange angles or unnecessarily using "shakey cam" to try to get a rise out of the audience, when a real simple wide-angle would be so much more watchable. There are a ton of holes in the plot here as well such as the monsters all of a sudden having an increased thirst for blood after what we have to presume is years of kind of considering the family a non-issue. Also the timing of the monster's attack on the other camp is rather convenient isn't it? There could have been much better reasoning behind this happening than what we were presented with.
This was watchable, but certainly nothing special.
This would have made this movie a fantastic post-apocalyptic horror that will be entertaining to its targeted audience.
Here, I was thinking what triggered the sudden change and also the family dynamics was obviously absent. Monster attack on the other camp was an easy way out by the screenplay writer. You are right, it was watchable but there was nothing special about the movie. I appreciate your comment. It was nice to have you here. Thank you for the support.
I think Nic Cage must be the actor who is part of productions that I liked to see, but at the same time I know they are not of quality and for that reason I better avoid many of his movies.
Surprisingly and because of who was involved, the film "Dream Scenario" is one of the best I have seen from this actor and which I recommend, there is also the upcoming horror film "Longlegs" which I have high expectations.
"Dream Scenario", I will check it. I didn't know about this movie. How did I miss it? For "Longlegs", I am actually anticipating it and I cant wait to watch it. Thank you for recommendations. I appreciate your comment and support.