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Arcadian (film)

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Arcadian
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBenjamin Brewer
Written byMichael Nilon
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFrank Mobilio
Edited byKristi Shimek
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byRLJE Films
Release dates
  • March 11, 2024 (2024-03-11) (SXSW)
  • April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • Ireland
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$930,672[1][2]

Arcadian is a 2024 post-apocalyptic action horror film directed by Benjamin Brewer from a screenplay by Michael Nilon. It stars Nicolas Cage as the father of two teenage boys, all trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The film is an international co-production between the United States, Canada, and Ireland.

Arcadian premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024, followed by a theatrical release in the United States on April 12, 2024, by RLJE Films.[3] The film received generally favourable reviews from critics.

Plot

The film opens with Paul scavenging for supplies in a storehouse and then fleeing through deserted back alleys, with the pandemonium of an apocalyptic event in the background, sirens blaring and sounds of distant explosions and screams of people. He seeks refuge in a secluded spot, cradling his two infant boys and reassuring them that everything will be okay.

Fifteen years later, after a pandemic has wiped out most of the population and caused civilisation to break down, Paul and his twin sons, Joseph and Thomas, live in a derelict farmhouse, eking out what livelihood they can during the day. They board up all the windows and doors of their house and never venture outdoors at night, because monstrous photophobic creatures prowl the countryside until the dawn. As Thomas returns home one evening after sunset from a nearby farm belonging to the Rose family, it becomes apparent that he is the bigger risk-taker of the two brothers, while Joseph appears more intellectual and talks about ways of improving their situation beyond mere survival. After dinner, they hear loud banging coming from the cellar, which stops after three attempts of the creatures to enter the house.

The next morning, Paul finds deep gouges on the outside of the cellar door and decides to reinforce it. Joseph reveals that he has been working on an off-road utility buggy in the barn, and Paul helps him to bring its motor to life. After Paul teaches Joseph how to drive it, he sends both his sons to salvage some wood for reinforcing the cellar door. Thomas, who is secretly in love with Charlotte Rose, wants to go the Rose farm and leaves his brother, asking Joseph to meet him later on the road leading to the Rose farm so they can return home together.

On his way back from the Rose farm, Thomas trips over a crevice and falls into a cave, concussed and unconscious. After Joseph returns home without his brother and with the night falling, Paul sets out to find Thomas and discovers him in the cave, where they decide to stay until sunrise. When several creatures converge on them through the rocks underneath the cave later in the night, Paul lights a flare, but one of his hands gets trapped in the rocks, and as the charge detonates in his hand, it kills the creatures and causes the cave to collapse.

Meanwhile, home alone, Joseph uses himself as bait and traps one of the creatures, intending to study it later. Driving the buggy in the morning, he finds Thomas and Paul, who is badly injured and unconscious, and brings them home. Thomas insists that they should take their father to the Rose farm, as better care can be provided there, and because Paul won't survive without medication. But Mr. Rose and his wife announce they can't spare any medicine to help him, although they are willing to let Thomas stay on their farm. Joseph returns home with Paul. Thomas pleads with Charlotte. She gives him the medicine, but when Thomas tries to take it home to his father, he is stopped at the gate and held at gunpoint by one of Rose's farmhands, who accuses him of being a liar and a thief and wants to punish him by shooting his foot off.

Back home, Joseph finds a large hole forming under the floorboards and realizes that the creatures have been digging under the house, intending to get inside. At the Rose farm, they attack through a similar hole dug under the floor and kill everyone except Thomas and Charlotte, who escape to Paul's farm. There, Paul regains consciousness and suggests a course of action to fight the creatures. Joseph starts preparing a trap, planning to set off several gallons of fuel as an improvised fire bomb. In order to give the brothers and Charlotte more time to make it to safety, Paul locks the door behind them and holds the creatures off until the bomb explodes, sacrificing his life.

The next day, Charlotte, Joseph, and Thomas set off to check for possible survivors on the other farms in the area.

Cast

Production

In October 2022, it was announced that Nicolas Cage would star in the film.[5] In November, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins, and Sadie Soverall joined the cast.[4]

Principal photography began in Dublin, Ireland, in November 2022.[4] In February 2023, it was announced that filming had wrapped and that the film was in post-production.[6]

Release

Arcadian premiered at SXSW on March 11, 2024.[7]

RLJE Films acquired distribution rights for North America, the UK, Australia, and Ireland, scheduling the film's North American theatrical release for April 12, 2024, followed by a streaming release later in the year on Shudder and AMC+.[8]

The film was released in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2024.[1]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 96 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Led by a trio of strong performances, Arcadian blends family drama and post-apocalyptic horror to visceral, emotionally stirring effect."[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[10]

Steve Rose gave the film a 3/5 rating and wrote a review in The Guardian: "A lean and competent, albeit generic, thriller, with the added benefit of Nicolas Cage."[11]

Reviewing the film for Daily Telegraph, Tim Robey was slightly less enthusiastic: "Brewer ... neglects the mightiest special effects at his disposal, which are Cage's face, voice and hands."[12]

Barry Levitt of Empire Magazine wrote, "Though things go off the rails in the third act, Arcadian's intriguing premise and inspired monster design pack plenty of scares into this post-apocalyptic fable."[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Arcadian (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "Arcadian (2024)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Arcadian 2024 Parents Guide – MovieParentGuide". April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Grobar, Matt (November 21, 2022). "Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins & Sadie Soverall Join Nicolas Cage in Survival Action-Thriller 'Sand and Stones'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  5. ^ King, Aidan (October 18, 2022). "Nicolas Cage to Star in 'Sand and Stones' Survival-Action Thriller". Collider. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Ritman, Alex (February 17, 2023). "First Look: Nicolas Cage in Survival Action-Thriller 'Arcadian' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 17, 2023). "SXSW 2024 Second Wave Includes Pics with Sydney Sweeney, Nicolas Cage, Camila Mendes & 'Monkey Man'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 16, 2024). "Nicolas Cage Survival Thriller 'Arcadian' Acquired by RLJE Films Ahead of SXSW Bow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Arcadian". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 15, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^ "Arcadian". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "Arcadian review – Nicolas Cage lies low in tense post-apocalyptic thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  12. ^ "Arcadian: Nicholas Cage vs slimy monsters shouldn't be this dull". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  13. ^ "Arcadian Review". Empire Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
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