Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Arcadian’

7/17/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martel as Thomas, Paul, and Joseph in Benjamin Brewer’s ARCADIAN. (Photo Courtesy of RLJE Films and Shudder. An RLJE Films and Shudder Release.)

It is the hope of every parent out there, that when their children head out into the world… they are ready to confront it and change it. For parents know that the world can be a hard place, but with the right skill set, and love in one’s heart… the transition to everyday adult life is smoother and can help their kids see the good in the world and nourish it and nurture it and bring about that change, and that has helped to create a society that for the most part… functions and leans toward good, despite teetering on the brink now and again. But sadly… that tradition and that hope has been threatened over the past decade or so.

After all, the world is an angrier place than it has been in recent memory, and there are concerns about the future of the planet that make it hard to see the good out there and even harder to find hope. Leaving parents to now wonder, if it is possible to keep this tradition alive or if it will die. Courtesy of a world that slips into darkness by way of bitter generations that have to look out for number uno out of a need to simply survive. Well, it just so happens, that a brand-new film on Shudder explores that very concern and whether or not the hope for tomorrow that our children should harbor can survive, in the most unique manner possible. By plunging us into the end of the world in Arcadian.

For in this particular film, we catch up with a father named Paul, and his two sons, Joseph, and Thomas. Who are doing their best to survive decades after civilization collapsed from a strange pandemic that mutated humanity into outright monsters. And in present day, they survive on a remote farm and keep in contact with other families and people out there… but do their best to keep to themselves. For the world has indeed changed for the worse and large gatherings make for a tasty target for these hideous once-human creatures. But staying isolated is becoming harder and harder by the day, since the boys are discovering the world and are curious about what it could be for them, and that leaves Paul worried about who they will become when the time comes for them to be out there on their own… with nothing to really find but devastation.

Which is the perfect plot in which to explore those worries and those concepts. And it does point out how the end of everything should rob future generations of hope and joy. For if there is no career to chase, no family to create and nothing to look forward to but survival… what then is our purpose? Which should make for a bleak and painful film that sees the light fade from all. But that is where the film surprises. Because instead of showing us the final days of hope in the world, Joseph and Thomas do find good in the world and reasons to go on and see what tomorrow will bring. Primarily because of their father and his actions in this story, and that brings about a deeper message. In that, if we want to provide kids with a beacon for a better tomorrow… parents must become that, and they must exhibit that its less about what we find and more about what we do that makes the world a place worth living.

That is of course, a message that all of us should adhere to, since it could in fact solve a great deal of problems we face right now. But what matters more is that it makes a horror film hopeful and powerful, and that’s a big deal considering how damn scary this movie truly is. After all, it plucks upon our own Post Traumatic Stress from the pandemic by plunging us into another one. One where everyone fears the night and where trust and the sense of community, we do share is gone, and that’s scary to see since it is a fundamental of humanity. Not to mention, the monsters that roam the countryside, are the stuff of nightmares. For they are indeed a hideous hybrid of man and our worst fears, and they are savage and intelligent enough to make one’s skin crawl for certain.

Yet, while it is nice to see a little hope in a horror film, and some scary monsters, none of this works without great acting and that’s here too. With Nicolas Cage leading the charge as an exhausted yet determined Paul, and he sells the burden of fatherhood with an incredible honesty that is relatable and powerful. Plus, Jaeden Martel (Joseph) and Maxwell Jenkins (Thomas) also lend gravitas to the film with their portrayal of young men coming of age at the worst possible time, and all of these elements bring forth, a downright fascinating feature. One that is far more human than one might initially expect, and quite philosophical in nature, and it truly does leave you thinking about tomorrow, and what we can do to instill hope in it again with dark forces constantly cresting on the horizon.

Watch ‘Arcadian’

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