Arcadian (2024) * * 1/2

 

Directed by: Benjamin Brewer

Starring:  Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Sadie Soverall, Maxwell Jenkins

Arcadian is another movie about aliens with their special quirks.  In A Quiet Place, you can evade them if you stay quiet, but in Arcadian, they attack only at night.  They're helpfully nocturnal, giving their potential victims a chance to prepare proper defenses for them at night.  This provides an eerie atmosphere which works, but the more we see the aliens and the more they attack, the more we see that Arcadian doesn't distinguish itself.   It's skillfully made with actors who are good in their roles, and Nicolas Cage is of course watchable even in bad movies.  

We've seen in last year's Dream Scenario that Cage excels in the right role, and is even quirky and interesting in lesser ones.  I've always said Cage gives it his all no matter what the movie or part.  I say let's get back to giving him quality films to star in.  He's an actor capable of providing unique energy and it's always fun to see him. 

In Arcadian, Cage plays Paul, a father of twin sons who has survived in a house in the wilderness for the past fifteen years these pesky aliens have occupied the planet.  Days are spent preparing mostly to secure the house for the night so the insect-looking thingys can't break in and devour them.  Paul tells his sons not to stray far from the house and be home by a certain time.  One night, one of the sons falls into a hole.  Paul discovers him but is trapped and nearly killed.  The boys are now on their own, with their comatose father recuperating.  

A nearby farm has more medicine than any other.  One of the boys falls in love with the oldest teenage daughter.  One alien is captured and studied.  It appears, for a second, that maybe the aliens aren't all harmful, but just as scared as the humans are.  That wonder is fleeting, and soon the aliens become target practice for our heroes.   Arcadian has its moments of dread which operate on a nightmarish level.  Even though the characters are American, the movie looks to have been filmed maybe in Ireland or England.  This provides an unusual effect, but once the movie degenerates into yet another War of the Worlds retread, I found myself losing interest.