I rarely get to be genuinely, earnestly surprised by a horror movie on Hulu. Growing up in the digital age, by the time something releases—especially something big—I’ve no doubt already been exposed to trailers, marketing, or peer reviews. I do my best to avoid these things as best I can, but I can’t really hover outside a movie theater while the trailers play, can I?
It’s not a huge deal, though it does mean some of the surprise factor is eroded by the time I finally check any given movie out. I loved Longlegs, for instance, but I can’t exactly say I went in blind. And we all know about the infamous Abigail debacle, a trend less severely repeated this year with Drew Hancock’s Companion (spoiler: it’s about 20 minutes in before the robot twist is revealed). When I do get to go in blind, it’s a delight, and one of my favorite movie-going experiences last year was when I blindly bought tickets to Benjamin Brewer’s Arcadian, now a Hulu chart-topper.
Per Hulu: In a near future, normal life on Earth has been decimated. Paul and his two sons, Thomas and Joseph, have been living a half-life – tranquility by day and torment by night. Every night, after the sun sets, they face the unrelenting attacks of a mysterious and violent evil. One day, when Thomas doesn’t return home before sundown, Paul must leave the safety of their fortified farm to find him. A nightmarish battle ensues that forces the family to execute a desperate plan to survive.
Arcadian is a sneakily thrilling monster movie with the greatest movie monster this decade if not this century. They’re hard to describe, largely because in static images, they look pretty conventionally extraterrestrial. It’s when they start rapidly moving their heads and clacking their jaws that their true creativity is revealed. Oh, and those nasty little buggers feed through their abdomen. Ew.
It was such a delightful surprise, largely because I knew nothing of the movie going into it other than it starred Nicolas Cage, which is always a treat. Arcadian is somber and pretty frightening, and in our own review of the film, we wrote of the monsters, “The result is an anatomical anomaly that resembles the wirehaired shell dwellers from George Lucas’ THX-1138 with the face of Saelt-Marae (aka Yak Face) seen at Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi.” You gotta see these things, trust me.
Fans online have been having a great time with Arcadian, too, and they’ve taken to social media to share their thoughts. Check out some choice reactions below:
Just when you think you’ve seen every post apocalyptic movie @hulu throws out #Arcadian …. Intense, Crazy and Bad Ass! Loved it!
— Jorge Sanchez (@BoiPerfection) January 28, 2025
Arcadian just hit the Hulu and is definitely worth a watch. It’s a good father and son story. #Criticless https://t.co/tAN4bYymdm
— BookstoreThor (@BookstoreThor) January 24, 2025
Okay um I have something to say
WHAT THE FUCK IS ARCADIAN AND WHAT THE FUCK IS NICHOLAS CAGE GETTING HIMSELF INTO THESE DAYS
This is the first time in years a movie has legitimately creeped me out
— Count Merpula (@merpaholic) January 31, 2025
#Arcadian – Those have to be some of the coolest creatures I’ve ever seen put on film… and the fact that we never truly understand how they look makes them even cooler!!
Una entretenida monster movie distópica que habla sobre la relación padre-hijos y la importancia de proteger… pic.twitter.com/FTh2xPkSVD
— Isaac Ezban (@IsaacEzban) January 30, 2025
It was a pretty good movie! I cried a bit toward the end. The heroics and love of Nicolas Cage’s character. #Arcadian https://t.co/nVGE3c2GAB
— Carol V (@SongbirdCarolV) January 26, 2025
What do you think? Any plans to check out Arcadian on Hulu? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
