Arcadian is a Nicolas Cage film where Nic is not doing much. Most of the focus lies on his sons. The trailer made it seem like the dynamics between the father and the sons were very important. Even in the beginning of the film, it is implied there is more to this father and his sons. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Mind you, this being yet another low budget production, I wasn't expecting too much. But nothing could prepare me for how underwhelming it was. And to be honest, this is a real shame. The film had a real potential to provide decent horror goodness. The creatures were pretty decent. Quite creative in how they looked and acted. But everything else lacked. There was no tension, no dread, nor were they scary. They easily could have been had the director taken time to build up the monsters. The characters deal with the creatures, but only at very rare times you are shown how dangerous they can be. The two brothers, Thomas and Joseph, don't really like each other. No real reason given, but I guess it's implied they both are suffering from a form of cabin fever. Thomas is more interested in going to the Rose farm. Naturally, since he likes the girl (Charlotte) who is living there. How do they spend time with each other? Well, just talking and wasting time. I mean, they are telling each other apocalyptic tales which may or may not be based on truth. But not once do you get the idea that they truly are in an impossible and terrifying situation. Actually, very little is known about this world. Like with everything, a lot is implied, only not backed up with dialogue and other evidence to show you what is going on. This minimalistic approach might work with experienced directors, which Benjamin Brewer is not.
The biggest disappointment comes from Nicolas Cage. Or rather the lack of. Like I stated, he is not doing much. Then what is the point of him being there in the first place? Well, apparently, the writer of this film is Mike Nilon, who is the agent, friend and partner (in production company) of Nicolas Cage. Seems to me, he is there as a favour. You would think that Cage would be highly motivated creatively speaking. At this point we must admit that like many other fine actors, Nic Cage is in direct to video hell and is more interested in the pay check than to give you something worthwhile to watch.
And that in a nutshell can be said of the whole film. It's only ninety minutes but feels like a three-hour film. That's never a good thing. Want my advice? Stay clear from this one!
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