Arcadian is more frustrating than enjoyable. Neither the camerawork, script, nor the performances allow the viewer to be absorbed into the film’s world or its emotional arc. Characters barely emote, and the film feels hollow and stiff.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 19, 2025

Arcadian’s blend of muted performances, intriguing creature designs, unsettling visuals, and minimal exposition creates a haunting, atmospheric experience.

| Oct 4, 2024

Though we would have liked to see more of Nicolas Cage in this all too lean, post-apocalyptic thriller, the young actors deliver solid performances and the creature design is truly the stuff of nightmares

| Oct 4, 2024

If you’re a fan of creature features, Arcadian is worth a watch for the creature design alone. It’s unlike anything I have seen previously and is sure to satisfy.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 15, 2024

Arcadian is a perfectly fine post-apocalyptic thriller, but it’s infuriating precisely because there’s so much potential here.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 9, 2024

Arcadian is admirable and in parts well crafted but its originality begins and ends with its creature design.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 8, 2024

It may lack in-depth character development, but it succeeds as a creature feature that avoids common post-apocalyptic horror pitfalls and delivers on its premise.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2024

A solid Nicolas Cage performance in an otherwise forgettable, redundant, and sometimes incomprehensible horror-thriller with some decent moments, but not enough to warrant a theatrical experience.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 5, 2024

Arcadian is filled heart-racing moments and one of the most unique creature-designs I’ve seen put to film

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 25, 2024

The farmhouse-under-siege scenario, reminiscent of George Romero’s original “Night of the Living Dead,” offers some suspense, but the film offers little else – especially once the focus shifts from the Cage character to the boys.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 21, 2024

Michael Nilon’s script is a wisp of a thing, and so the potential coming-of-age standoff between Cage and his boys doesn’t go anywhere.

| Jul 10, 2024

With more character development, Arcadian might have been an elevated horror hit. As it is, it’s an entertaining creature feature that will keep the jump scares coming while audiences wait for A Quiet Place: Day One.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 9, 2024

The best part of the monster movie Arcadian is Nicolas Cage. And the worst part of Arcadian is the lack of Nicolas Cage.

| Original Score: C | Jul 5, 2024

In one of his B-minus movie turns, Cage’s performance is sincere and strong, temperature turned down, compassion dialed up. (His neat, brushy hairpiece is nice, too.)

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jul 4, 2024

For a low-budget film, the effects work is minimal but effective. Arcadian keeps the aliens’ origins intentionally ambiguous and is all the more spine-tingling for it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 4, 2024

Arcadian triumphs when successfully blending family drama with terrifying use of its gnarly creatures, yet its disregard of the strongest features it possesses may leave viewers a little cold.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 27, 2024

It has some memorable moments and it has atmosphere. I think it is best before it shows its hand, or indeed, its teeth.

| Jun 21, 2024

Arcadian has no real identity, no real ideas of its own – and an uncharacteristically reserved Cage is missing from half of it. A wasted opportunity, indeed.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 18, 2024

Stop shaking the camera! On its own it does not imply excitement or tension... Beautiful score, though. Top marks for the composers Kristin Gundred and Josh Martin.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 17, 2024

Arcadian’s intriguing premise loosens once Cage leaves the screen, and slack plot and action beats swamp its essence.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 17, 2024