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Nicolas Cage is likely the optimal pick for a daring scary movie centered on the biblical figure, but not for the causes certain fans might assume. In reality, the star does not even play Jesus in the new film: his role is referred to only as a craftsman. Cage is cast as a father figure in this story, attempting to maintain his religious convictions as the teenage character (acted by Noah Jupe), his adolescent foster child, starts to display miraculous gifts. The explanation it's challenging to envision another leading star playing this part is that while his character is stricken with various difficulties, Nicolas Cage seems nearly emotionally convinced that this gloomy, grim little movie is a valuable project.

Cage's Current Film Selections

Cage has using that time more selectively recently. He yet makes more films than the majority of regular audiences could possibly view — for instance, were you informed that he has filmed three distinct cowboy movies in the past three years? — yet he also mixes in esteemed independent films such as Dream Scenario, another notable movie, and Longlegs. This new film sounds like a similar project, because it’s not strictly scary, likely to stir debate, and handles a over-the-top description with gravity.

The Film's Plot and Direction

Sadly, filmmaker the director does not justify viewer engagement. The Carpenter’s Son opens in a interestingly wandering context, marketed as based on an apocryphal lost gospel concerning Christ’s childhood. Cage's character, the maternal figure, and their child relocate constantly, afraid of faith-based hostility or doubt over The Boy’s strange powers. “Calamity follows us,” Cage mournfully notes. This persists when dark forces attack the household where they currently live, beginning with that well-known scriptural test for The Boy.

Sometimes, the movie mirrors an Exorcist-style possession movie, but none of the central roles are clearly inhabited. Rather, they grow increasingly alienated from each other, when these forces infect a local young woman (Isla Johnston, credited as an outsider) who the son connects to, and gives everyone unsettling premonitions of a dark tomorrow. The Carpenter in particular struggles with his role in the narrative, at times scolding the son he doesn't completely grasp.

Controversy and Care

The subject matter is apt to invite debate, and the director treats it with much delicacy — excessive, perhaps. The notion of a young man dealing with his eventual sacrifice and tempted by unknown powers is truly terrifying, but the filmmaker may be wary of appearing sensational and keen to indicate his intentions, thus he frequently retreats into gloomily threatening filming. The figures brood incessantly — FKA Twigs, who displayed genuine potential in the 2024 Crow remake, surprisingly — surrenders her performance to her religious attire, at times punctuated by some gnarly horror imagery.

Cage's Acting and Film's Shortcomings

Meanwhile, the actor dabbles in precisely the type of overacting that those who enjoy his campier roles might be looking for. An instance (featured) in promotional material in which he erupts and screams “I’ve lost my faith!” Should such of theatrical release is part of your religious scary film, possibly a more brazenly silly method would be more effective of the actor's readiness to exaggerate as required. Instead, The Carpenter’s Son echoes the weaker low-budget films Cage made during that period — excluding the campy action films so much as the dramas and ghost stories that always sound promising, and often contain some select actor's highlights, but in the end seem like, well, low-budget DTV material.

Honestly, a number of those, while less ambitious, were easier to view as a whole. At this point I need to break my personal rule, not religious but professional: Long ago, a respected mentor convinced me to remove words like “monotonous” or “lifeless” from my reviewing language. These words communicate minimal but a personal and broadly stated impatience, avoiding the job of vividly conveying the intellectual and sensation of viewing a particular movie. It's hard to communicate boredom without seeming uninteresting personally. It’s no more expressive as calling a movie “notable.” “Elaborate,” that is.

But I must confess, I grew weary during much of the film. On the positive side, it’s a devotional type of boredom, not for this movie is preachy, but since it takes a sort of patient acceptance to view it. Eventually early on, the movie enters a repetitive rhythm of simmering anguish, and fails to