Arcadian

Don't watch this move right after you eat something. The super shaky camera work could make you sick. 5 minutes into the movie I could not bear it. Just too uncomfortable.

The story line is easy and straightforward: people try to stay alive after some sort of apocalypse.

What is missing from the movie is the horror and the family dynamics. You either make the move very scary or you focus on the family and the bonding. Or make both the focus. However, this movie does not have enough either. Turns out the movie becomes boring and losing focus. So people can easily predict what's to come in the next 3 minutes.

It could be much better if they add some mysteries to the creatures. What causes the apocalypse is not that important to me.

Unfortunately the direction totally ruined this for me. Camera so shaky I felt like my head was spinning. And when action does happen the camera just turns away. Performances were above average, the kids were pretty good but the effects were fairly poor. I usually love little movies like this but just can't get past the camera work. I swear it was recorded on a bouncy castle.

Soundtrack was nice and Cage is as solid as he always is.

Interesting monster designs but again, we could hardly make out anything we were seeing when they showed up.

Overall had a feeling of "A Quiet Place" but smaller which I can appreciate.

Well, I like to think director Benjamin Brewer (best known for directing music videos and leading the VFX efforts for Everything Everywhere All at Once) had a few neat tricks up his sleeve while conjuring up this creature-feature starring Nic Cage. It has a pretty interesting first act that reminded me of films like A Quiet Place and It Comes At Night, with Cage being the difference-maker.

I'd see anything with Cage in it at this point - heck, I've watched all his bad DTV-movies when was going through a career slump in the 2010s before reinventing himself towards the end of the decade. I just enjoyed seeing him turning into a red-hot act once again. Arcadian evidently descends into a B-horror territory, with deliberate campiness in the presentation of the creatures and a plot that only gives away bits and pieces of its lead characters. The action is layered with some shaky cam, just so that the creatures' appearance isn't entirely given away; that's a creative decision I can applaud. That said, the plot advancement remains utterly predictable.

It's an okayish affair that progressively sees less involvement from Cage, but they establish the brothers' equation fairly well for us to believe in their survival journeys. Jaeden Martell (from It), especially, is a promising talent. A needless love angle is also introduced, only to bring more characters that the monsters can munch on. I'm also curious how the dog in the film survived the whole ordeal, though I'm glad he did :)

If you like dystopian sci-fi thrillers, this is a lovely little film. Fans of 28 Days Later and The Monster will appreciate this for what it is - good entertainment. It's not going to change your life, but it's a post-apocalyptic monster movie made with love and a lot of attention to detail.

Nicholas Cage plays it subtle and the mostly newcomer cast are, quite frankly, great. It's bleak, and it's scary enough to give you a buzz. The monsters are really original and the whole thing makes for a delightful little independent movie.

Personally, I hope there is a sequel - the world painted here is worth living in ... provided you bring a shot gun.

A father and his twin sons have survived the end of the world for fifteen years. As teenagers, the boys have grown into young men and become independent and rambunctious. As they quarrel and go their separate ways one day, their lives are threatened again, and they must fight for survival.

This is a simple end-of-the-world, post-apocalypse survival movie. The story gets straight to the point, giving little to no backstory on the characters or what caused the world's end. There is not a lot of action and a bit of suspense. The runtime of the movie is short. This might not be worth watching in theaters, but it is worth streaming.