A scene from ‘The Arcadian’
Another horror movie starring Nicolas Cage? Sure enough, Christmas has come early! long legsPlaying in a theater near you, Arcadian, In it, Cage plays Paul, a man raising his twin sons Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) in a post-apocalyptic world populated by light-sensitive monsters.
The cause of the end of the world is unclear, as it all takes place off-screen, with screams and explosions, as Paul holds his twin boys in his arms, calming his older selves with the universal mantra that everything will be okay.
Fifteen years later, Paul and the boys are living a hard life in a dilapidated farmhouse. The twins are not alike in appearance or temperament. Thomas is a risk-taker, reckless of his own safety and that of others. Joseph, on the other hand, is a thinker and craftsman, working on cause and effect.
rustic
Director: Benjamin Brewer
Mould: Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins
Run-time: 92 minutes
StoryIn a ruined world, a father and his twin sons struggle to survive
Thomas is in love with Charlotte (Sadie Soverall), who lives with her parents at the nearby Rose Farm. He goes to visit her and is late in returning, greatly upsetting Paul. He returns just before sunset and the house is locked up to protect it from monsters who break down the door trying to get in.
Joseph, true to his nature, hears the commotion outside and guesses that the cellar door was attacked three times before the creatures gave up. Joseph wonders why they did that. When Paul sees that Joseph has prepared an off-roader, he teaches him to drive and sends the boys to collect wood to strengthen the door.
Thomas enjoys spending time with Charlotte and so he tells Joseph that he is going to the farm every day and arranges to meet Joseph in the evening so they can return home together. With Charlotte, Thomas loses his sense of time passing as they play the Apocalypse game, where you have 10 seconds to describe how the world was destroyed.
Nicolas Cage in ‘Arcadian’
Running back to the meeting place, Thomas falls into a crevice and is hurt. When Joseph returns alone, Paul goes looking for Thomas and upon finding him, tells him they will stay in the cave until dawn. Paul is seriously injured in an encounter with the creatures and the boys have to bring him medicine and care while fighting off the monsters who are changing tactics.
A spare post-apocalypse thriller, rustic Some filler would have been helpful. The film feels like a prologue with something still to come. It feels like a flashback to another film or YA show where we would have figured out the reason for the fight between Paul and the boys. It’s a shame because we wanted to see more of Cage, although Martel and Jenkins give solid performances and the creatures look pretty scary with their terrifying mouths.
Ireland is the epitome of mythical Arcadia, whose lush fields hide rot inside. What you see is what you get rusticAnd wishing for more like Oliver Twist isn’t going to help.
Arcadian is currently streaming on Lionsgate Play
