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Nicolas Cage is likely the perfect selection for a daring scary movie focused on the biblical figure, but not for the causes many audiences could guess. Truthfully, the star doesn't even portray Jesus in the new film: the part he plays is credited simply as The Carpenter. He is positioned as the Joseph in this narrative, working to uphold his faith while his son (acted by the young actor), their adolescent foster child, commences to exhibit supernatural abilities. The explanation it’s difficult to imagine any other leading star playing this part is that even as his character becomes weighed down with various difficulties, Cage himself appears nearly emotionally confident that the murky, somber small film is worth his time.

Cage's Current Career Choices

Nicolas Cage was using those years more carefully in recent years. He yet stars in more films than the majority of casual fans will ever see — as an illustration, are you aware that the actor has made several different Westerns in the past three years? — yet he also mixes in high-profile A24/Neon gigs for example Dream Scenario, Pig, and a further title. This new film seems like one of those, in that it’s borderline horror, likely to stir debate, and approaches a exaggerated concept quite seriously.

The Film's Storyline and Handling

Unfortunately, filmmaker Lotfy Nathan does not justify the audience's focus. The Carpenter’s Son begins with a engagingly rootless context, positioned as drawing from an unknown scripture regarding the early years of Jesus. The Carpenter, The Mother, and their child move from place to place, anxious of religious persecution or distrust about The Boy’s mysterious gifts. “Trouble pursues us,” The Carpenter gloomily remarks. This persists as sinister entities focus on the family where they currently live, initiating on that familiar Biblical temptation for The Boy.

Sometimes, the movie mirrors an Exorcist-style horror film, but not one of the main figures are clearly inhabited. Instead, they become progressively isolated mutually, while these entities infect a nearby girl (Isla Johnston, listed as an outsider) who The Boy connects to, and gives all troubling visions of a bleak destiny. Cage's role especially grapples with his place in this story, occasionally berating his child who mystifies him.

Controversy and Care

The content is likely to court controversy, and the director handles it with plenty of delicacy — overly, perhaps. The idea of a adolescent facing his destined offering and tempted by dark influences is certainly scary, but Nathan could be hesitant regarding looking exploitative and keen to telegraph his intentions, therefore he regularly retreats into gloomily threatening visuals. Characters brood incessantly — the singer-actress, who demonstrated real promise in the 2024 Crow remake, surprisingly — surrenders her acting to her Mother Mary cloak, at times punctuated by several disturbing frightening scenes.

Cage's Acting and Movie's Flaws

At the same time, Cage dabbles in just the sort of exaggerated performance that his more snickering appreciators may desire. There is a moment (shown) in previews in which he erupts and shouts “I’ve lost my faith!” When this sort of florid outburst is part of your Jesus-themed horror movie, perhaps a more brazenly silly method would make better use of his eagerness to be extreme if needed. Rather, The Carpenter’s Son echoes the weaker straight-to-DVD movies Cage made during that period — not the cheesy thrillers so much as the dramas and paranormal movies that often seem intriguing, and usually have some select Cage moments, but finally come across like, well, inexpensive direct-to-consumer content.

Truthfully, several of these, while less ambitious, were more watchable overall. At this point I have to violate my usual practice, not religious but professional: Previously, a beloved editor urged me to banish words like “boring” or “dull” from my film-criticism vocabulary. Such terms communicate minimal but a personal and generically described restlessness, avoiding the job of clearly expressing the thoughtful and emotional experience of watching an individual production. It's challenging to express tedium without sounding boring yourself. It's just as unclear as calling a movie “interesting.” “Elaborate,” that is.

Yet, I acknowledge, I was bored during much of The Carpenter’s Son. In its defense, it is a religious style of stultification, not because The Carpenter’s Son is preachy, but as it requires a type of dutiful submission to sit through it. After a while soon after starting, the film enters a monotonous pattern of simmering distress, and never really