The visual vocabulary of dystopian genre narratives is so innocuous now that the comparisons between Arcadian and The Last of Us and A Quiet Place are inevitable. It doesn’t help that these and other end-of-the-world tales feature uncanny antagonists preying on the human survivors. To compensate for that lack of superficial innovation, though, director Benjamin Brewer and writer Michael Nilon zero in on elements integral to the success of their collaboration. Namely the family dynamics and the awful threat festering beneath the surface.
Unlike other dystopian films, whatever led to the apocalypse in Arcadian is not known, seeing as characters play a guessing game about the cause while also being aware of the monsters’ presence. The ambiguity is ultimately unimportant to the story only because this film, like others, is fixated on the aftermath. The world building, on the other hand, is more derivative: the somber but picturesque backdrop is mainly rural — and clearly Irish — with the occasional trip into the nearest empty city. It could be implied that the cataclysmic event drove everyone out of urban areas, yet again, the venue doesn’t matter.
After a prologue set in the past, where Nicolas Cage‘s character is revealed to have two baby sons, the film jumps forward to when the boys (Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins) are teenagers and growing up in these certain times. They all live together on a shabby yet functional farm, while their closest neighbors, the Rose Farm, hole up in a comparatively swankier and bigger property. And unlike Cage’s character’s family, the Rose survivors are hardly bothered by these mysterious creatures (unofficially referred to as “chatterboxes”). Paul (Cage) and his sons Joseph (Martell) and Thomas (Jenkins) have a nightly ritual where they lock down their house to keep out any unwanted guests.
Arcadian does not delay the inevitable; the monsters arrive in due time. Seeing them in full view requires a bit of patience (and possibly an adjustment of your screen’s brightness), however, once they do appear, they will stir up revulsion as well as fascination. The creature design is, to say the least, unique. And, refreshingly, not extraterrestrial. The chatterboxes are rather ridiculous, but they are also unnerving.
Something admirable about Arcadian is its lack of thematic pretension. The ultra-serious cinematography would say otherwise, but Brewer and Nilon don’t feel the need to hammer home a message. Especially an iffy one. This is, thankfully, not a repeat of A Quiet Place, which used a return to “traditional” lifestyles to combat its story’s foreign invaders. On the contrary, Arcadian plays it safer by lingering on the importance of family. This is mainly done through Thomas, who comes of age here and drives a wedge between himself and his brother and father. He begins courting a teen girl (Sadie Soverall) from the Rose Farm and pines for her community’s more painless lifestyle. The consequences of Thomas’ adolescent rebellion are indeed foreseeable, however, the results are aptly told and satisfying, not to mention affecting.
Arcadian does not remotely break new ground in the post-apocalyptic arena; it takes full advantage of this cinematic era’s go-to blueprint for these trendy stories. Pushing past its generic but also beautifully shot exterior, though, this film succeeds by featuring strong performances from its young cast — Cage is the big name here, but he gladly gives his costars more of the spotlight — and cooking up a memorable breed of monster for them to fight.
Unlike the worlds in these kinds of films, there is no perceivable end to this genre. Yet, if other future offerings can offset their more uninspired elements with ones as effective and well crafted as those in Arcadian, then their continuing existence is welcome.
Arcadian premiered at South by Southwest 2024 and will be released in theaters starting on April 12.
Tales from the Paulside 
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