[REVIEW] "Arcadian" is a Creepy Crawly Creature Feature Spectacular
It’s the end of the world and in a tiny farmhouse we find teenage twins Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Thomas) living with their father Paul (Nicholas Cage) as they fight a deadly night creature. This is the world of the new RLJE Films feature Arcadian which opened in theaters April 12.
Arcadian is a slow-burn thriller following the experiences of two different families as they face the end of the world. Paul’s family consists of himself and his sons in a rather broken-down farmhouse which the trio consistently work at in order to protect themselves. On the other side, Mr. (Joe Dixon) and Mrs. Rose (Samantha Coughlan) live in a beautiful house along with their daughter Charlotte (Sadie Soverall). Thomas visits the Rose house to help out with the domestic labor, demonstrating the class difference between these families. He also forms a romance with Charlotte, connecting the families in the desolate world.
While Arcadian is primarily a creature feature, it is also able to tackle themes of class inequality, growing up, and the importance of community in times of violence. Through the two families, we see how each one is able to protect themselves from the creatures that appear at night. While Paul’s family must fight for their lives against the threat while working to provide for themselves, the Rose family lives on higher ground and has more wealth, so they are more easily able to survive in the circumstances. They do not need to exert themselves like Paul and his sons do. The class divide in this case is clear and demonstrates the inequality to survival.
The film opens on Paul rescuing his sons as babies and flashes forward to them as teens. A good portion of the film shows Paul teaching his sons important lessons on survival: driving their family vehicle, fighting back against the monsters, and the necessity of sticking together. It’s a sweet progression to watch and it humanizes all of these characters. Cage works well as a fatherly figure while Martell and Thomas both bring a beautiful sensitivity to their characters, showing a full range of emotions in their impossible circumstances. All of these characters go on a journey, but the heart of the film lies in Joseph and Thomas working together and learning from one another. Their relationship brings in a nuanced level to this familiar creature tale and it’s clear that writer Michael Nilon and director Ben Brewer worked carefully to instill this touching familial narrative before the creatures even make an appearance. It feels like a Titanic-style set-up: make the audience really care about these characters so that when they are finally threatened, we care about whether or not they survive.
Now to the nitty gritty of the film: the creature. What’s special about this particular monster is that it’s shown throughout the film that Joseph is interested in learning about it. He has drawings all over his room of insects that he has been studying in order to better understand the monster. Joseph is making connections between the other wildlife in this world to predict how it must have evolved. There is a tenderness in his approach to the monster that is able to see past its destruction to see where its aggression might be coming from. No one in this world seems to know or remember how it fell and Thomas wants to be the one to find out. It’s a really interesting take on the monster to see it as a creature also trapped in a world where society has ceased to exist.
Without giving too much away, let me just say that what makes Arcadian a standout in its genre is the monster design. If you are looking for nothing more than a really interesting and unique take on a giant scary monster, this is the film for you. Its movements are something I have never seen before and include the ability to unroll an arm out into a hand that has a nail that can grow the length of multiple human beings on command. Its head contains a disturbing wide mouth that is never fully visible head-on, and moves with a ferocious vigor up and down in the same manner as a plastic clapping hand toy. It’s horrifying and jaunting. The monster is clearly a descendant of some bug as it has saliva that can decompose its prey and its body is covered in the same wiry hair that would belong to a tarantula. Never have I seen a monster design this impressive since Annihilation (2018), and would absolutely recommend a watch for this aspect alone.
Arcadian is able to take the traditional creature feature and elevate it with clear themes familiar to post-apocalyptic media. The team has made a really standout, interesting, and beautifully located piece. It’s sure to be remembered as much for its familial bonds as it is for its haunting creature.