Arcadian (2024), directed by Benjamin Brewer, stars Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins, Sadie Soverall, Samantha Coughlan, Joe Dixon, and Joel Gillman. The film follows Paul (Cage) and his two teenage sons, Joseph (Martell) and Thomas (Jenkins), as they struggle to survive during an A Quiet Place (2018) -like apocalypse. Each night, bloodthirsty monsters stalk the land hurting for victims, but during the day, everything goes back to “normal.” Tensions between the brothers begin to rise when Thomas starts developing a relationship with Charlotte (Coughlan), the daughter of a nearby neighbor (Soverall). Joseph believes he should spend his time helping the family instead of chasing needless romantic endeavors. When Paul suffers a life-threatening injury, the two brothers are forced to overcome their immature squabbles in order to acquire medicine from Charlotte’s family before it’s too late. 

Cage plays things pretty straight here compared to his usual over-the-top schtick. It initially made me wonder why they’d cast an actor like Cage in such a laid-back role, but there’s actually something subversive about him playing a character who doesn’t eventually go off the deep end. He strikes a great balance between stern and loving – giving off some real alpha dad vibes. Martell is sometimes awkward in his delivery and Jenkins often comes off as a bit green, but I wouldn’t consider these particularly weak performances. The film is very much a story about a father raising his sons to become men and the two boys communicate this arc effectively. The portrayal of brotherly tension/arguments is likewise strong. There’s something realistic in the sense that no matter how much the brothers argue, there’s a palpable feeling that they’ll continue to have each other’s backs. The problem is that occasionally, the two are written to be complete boneheads who argue over the dumbest things (even in the context of siblings). It just makes them seem unintelligent and therefore not very likable. Thankfully, this only happens once or twice early on.

At a tight 90 minutes, the film is swiftly paced and well-edited in the sense that it tells an entertaining story with little fat on the bones. The only thing I could have used was a bit more background on what makes the monsters tick and a few hints as to what the larger state of the world is. The biggest issue with the movie is that it feels much too derivative of A Quiet Place (2018), especially in its ending. It takes on a similar tone in the sense that it features characters living in the apocalypse who aren’t constantly depressed and hateful of their reality. Every character is framed to have some kind of strong conscience/heart and it stands out from most movies in the genre. If the similarities ended here, it would come off as tastefully inspired. Instead, it comes off as distractingly derivative.

As for the film’s monsters, some strange but admittedly unique creative choices are made. Sometimes these puppet-like beasts come off as intimidating and otherworldly, but other times they make the viewer chuckle. It’s up to the individual to decide how they feel on this one, but one thing is for sure, they’re definitely memorable.  

Overall, although this is a little too similar to A Quiet Place (2018), it makes enough unique creative choices to avoid feeling cynically derivative. On a technical level, the movie works and is one of the biggest surprises I’ve had this year in terms of what my expectations were before pressing play. It’s thematically strong, action-packed, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s not necessary viewing, but if you like this kind of thing, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. B–