The end of the world is story that fiction keeps coming back to, especially in our modern age. Perhaps it's because of the way humanity has already irrevocably damaged our world, and with the end of humanity very likely on the horizon, but more and more fiction is exploring the idea of what might come after the end of our society. Arcadian is the latest film to enter this genre, and whilst it doesn't give away too many answers it absolutely does draw you in to a world that you're going to want to know more about.
The film begins closer to the end of the world, as our lead character, Paul (Nicolas Cage), scavenges inside a city that's in the middle of a collapse. Sirens blare in the background, and you can hear distant screams and gunfire as Paul makes his way through the streets and alleys, trying to avoid notice. Escaping the unnamed city, he watches it burn in the distance, before returning to the ruined building here he left his two infant sons.
From here, we jump forward fifteen years, to a time where Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) have grown up into smart, resourceful teens who live in a remote farm house with their father. They spend their days scavenging for supplies, fixing things up around the farm, and doing their best to keep going, whilst at night they lock the house down, barring the doors and windows as creatures from nightmares go on the prowl. Something has happened since the end of the world, and now humanity isn't on top of the food chain. As the three of them try to live their lives, cracks begin to form between the brothers thanks to Thomas' new obsession with Rose (Sadie Soverall), a young girl who lives on the neighbouring farm, a young love that sees Thomas neglect his duties, drawing his family into danger.
One of the things that I liked about Arcadian was that after a brief introduction, which gives away nothing as to why the world has ended, we're dropped into life after the apocalypse and have to keep up. We see the family rushing home as the sun goes down, locking all of the door and windows and boarding them up, but we're not told why. The first time something tries to get into the house the family talk about it as an unexpected, but not completely new occurrence, but we're not told what's outside. The characters have more information than we do, and they're treating the unusual and the frightening as commonplace, leaving the audience in the dark and creating mystery.
Whilst some of this mystery is revealed later on, with the creatures that were trying to get in being revealed in a pair of truly frightening and surprising scenes, we don't really get much of an explanation. And that's a good thing. The characters don't really know how the world ended, they don't really know what these monsters are, and so we don't get that information either. There is a moment where a child-like game posits a couple of possible explanations for the end of the world, but these are just wild theories with no evidence to back it up. Compared to many other films in the post-apocalypse genre it's a refreshing change to not be told why. It feels more realistic, as if the end of the world came and you somehow made it through you could very well have little to no information about it. It heightens the mystery of the world, and makes it a lot more frightening too.
And whilst the film is frightening, it doesn't revel in the horror or push it to the forefront of the film. Instead, the family story takes centre stage instead. Cage is well cast as the boys father, and manages to combine together moments of deep caring with those of desperation. He's a man whose children are quite literally his entire world, who he'd do anything for, and he's watching them grow up into young men. The way he quietly watches the two brothers interact, their very distinct personalities playing off each other is lovely to see, and there's a definite sense of sadness to him in some scenes as he considers the fact that Thomas wants more than just the three of them, as his first brush with love starts to take him away from the family home.
The two brothers, however, are the main focus of the film, and Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins are the centre of most of the films scenes. The film is pretty much told through their eyes, with one or both of them in almost every scene of the movie. Martell plays Joseph as a very quiet young man, one who often gets lost in his own thoughts. He's the more learned of the two, happy to get lost in books, and uses his intelligence to try and craft the three of them a better, safer existence. Thomas is a stark contrast to this. He's more brash, and often times more selfish. He puts himself and his wants first, and it's this that leads the family into trouble in big ways. Despite this, you don't come to hate Thomas, even if there are times you can find him quite frustrating and even foolish. Rounding out the cast is Sadie Soverall, who doesn't get as many scenes, but brings a great energy into the family dynamic and ends up playing a bigger part than expected towards the latter half of the film.
I won't talk much about the monsters of the movie, as they're best discovered as the film goes on. What I will say, however, is that their slow introduction is done well, and their presence is felt long before you final get your first glimpse of one; and when you do finally see one it makes for the kind of moment that will have you yelling at your screen. Their designs are very interesting, and the more you see them the more you realise there's more to them than your first impression would have you believe. They're monstrous, yet fascinating in a way that most movie monsters aren't, and whilst there are moments they look more unusual than frightening they're always threatening.
Arcadian isn't a very long film, sitting at just 90 minutes, and it uses it's time well, balancing the more mundane and human aspects of the post-apocalypse with scenes of horror. I would have liked to have spend more time in this world and with these characters, and would have happily enjoyed a film that was closer to the two hour mark. It's a world that I wanted to know more about, and wished we could have explored more of outside of the quiet countryside where our characters had sought refuge. As it is, this is a well paced movie that doesn't overstay its welcome, leaves you wanting more, and could even kick off a whole new film universe if the creatives behind it wanted to go further; and that's a rare and wonderful thing to find in an age of horror films that don't feel like they're putting a whole lot of effort in.
Arcadian is released in cinemas 14th June 2024.
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