Blair Loveday
There is one piece of advertising that will immediately have me interested in a movie.
That is “Starring Nicolas Cage”. Well his latest journey takes him to a world with scary creatures, and so I was intrigued and eager to check Arcadian out. I was not disappointed.
Arcadian kicks off with an ominous scene. Nicolas Cage is running down an abandoned looking street as sounds like sirens go off. We get very little info about what is going on here, we just know that he looks at his two infant boys to reassure them.
Suddenly we jump forward 15 years. Paul (played by Nicolas Cage) is going through their usual routines. At a meal we get to see a family relationship where the brothers are being … well, stubborn brothers, but Paul slams his knife down to remind them they are family. When they lock up for the night we discover they have a whole lot of locks, as it turns out some scary monsters come out at night.
Here we discover the brothers strengths. Thomas’ strengths lies in his physical attributes and Joseph is more intellectual. As Thomas is helping hold the door closed when it is being attacked, Joseph observes the pattern in which the creatures are testing out the doors strengths. We soon discover that Joseph has been fixing up a buggy which will help them travel further during the day. The brothers go for a drive where one gets dropped off at a neighbours house and the other goes exploring. When trying to return though one of the brothers finds himself stuck and so Paul heads out to help him, getting himself injured.
As the story progresses the real focus is on the brothers as they are forced to grow up very suddenly. For the most part the main plot isn’t the most unique. Monsters outside, having to try to survive, journeying out when it’s safe, and getting stuck, you can probably name a dozen of those. The monsters have some unique quirks which adds some intrigue to the story, but for the most part, it’s a story you have seen before.
What you haven’t seen before, well not for a while, is a subdued Nicolas Cage. His performance is a lot more chill, like a man that’s actually in control of a situation. This paired with his sons developments gives the story some decent heart and some enjoyable moments. The CGI isn’t the greatest, but it’s surprisingly solid given the tiny budget they worked from. It’s far from bad though, and adds a real authenticity to the creation of the film.
Arcadian may not be the best movie you’ll watch this year, but it’s still great. Some really solid acting, some tense moments, an interesting story, and intriguing monsters make this a fantastic horror movie that is well worth checking out. The Bluray has a couple of short but decent behind the scenes clips too that are really interesting.
