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Nicolas Cage is likely the optimal choice for a daring horror film focused on Jesus Christ, but not for the motivations some viewers may think. In reality, Cage doesn't actually portray Jesus in the new film: his role is listed simply as The Carpenter. He is positioned as a father figure within this story, attempting to uphold his religious convictions as The Boy (portrayed by the young actor), their adolescent adopted son, begins to exhibit miraculous gifts. Why it’s difficult to imagine a different major actor taking this character is that while his character is burdened with various difficulties, Nicolas Cage looks almost moving confident that the murky, somber little movie is a valuable project.

The Actor's Latest Projects

Nicolas Cage has been spending his time more selectively recently. He still makes more movies than the majority of regular audiences could possibly view — for instance, were you informed that the man has made a trio of separate Westerns in the past three years? — but he also adds prestige independent films such as one recent hit, Pig, and Longlegs. The Carpenter’s Son seems like a similar project, in that it’s genre-adjacent, likely to stir debate, and approaches a over-the-top concept quite seriously.

The Film's Plot and Handling

Regrettably, filmmaker the director fails to repay viewer engagement. The film begins with a engagingly rootless place, presented as based on an unknown scripture regarding the early years of Jesus. The Carpenter, the maternal figure, and their son move frequently, afraid of faith-based hostility or doubt about their son's unusual abilities. “Calamity follows us,” Cage sadly observes. It goes on as sinister entities target the family at their new home, getting a jump-start on that traditional religious challenge for The Boy.

Occasionally, the movie echoes an demonic possession-type possession movie, though none of the lead characters are explicitly taken over. Rather, they are increasingly alienated from each other, while these forces influence a local young woman (Isla Johnston, named an outsider) who The Boy bonds with, and provides everyone troubling visions of a grim future. The Carpenter in particular struggles with his role in the narrative, occasionally berating his child who mystifies him.

Discussion and Sensitivity

This material is apt to court controversy, and Nathan handles it with a lot of delicacy — too much, maybe. The idea of a adolescent confronted with his destined offering and seduced by mysterious forces is truly frightening, but the filmmaker could be cautious about looking exploitative and eager to indicate his aims, thus he frequently withdraws to gloomily threatening visuals. The figures brood incessantly — FKA Twigs, who demonstrated genuine potential in a recent film update, surprisingly — yields her acting to her religious attire, sometimes broken up by some gnarly horror imagery.

Cage's Performance and Film's Flaws

Meanwhile, Cage flirts with precisely the type of melodramatic acting that those who enjoy his campier roles may desire. An instance (also included) in the trailer where he erupts and screams “My belief is broken!” If that kind of dramatic explosion is a component of your biblical thriller, possibly a more boldly ridiculous style would make better use of his eagerness to be extreme if needed. Rather, The Carpenter’s Son is closer to the less successful straight-to-DVD productions the actor filmed over the 2010s — not the cheesy thrillers but rather the narrative films and paranormal movies that typically appear interesting, and often contain some select memorable scenes, but in the end seem like, well, inexpensive direct-to-consumer content.

Frankly, several of these, though not as grand, were easier to view as a whole. This is when I need to disregard my own dogma, not religious but professional: Years back, a respected mentor urged me to eliminate adjectives like “tedious” or “uninteresting” from my film-criticism vocabulary. These words communicate minimal but a subjective and vaguely expressed lack of patience, avoiding the task of clearly expressing the intellectual and emotional experience of seeing a specific film. It’s difficult to convey monotony without seeming uninteresting yourself. It’s no more expressive as calling a movie “interesting.” “Elaborate,” that is.

Yet, I acknowledge, I felt uninterested during much of The Carpenter’s Son. On the positive side, it’s a religious style of stultification, not for this movie is preachy, but as it demands a kind of obedient endurance to view it. Eventually early on, the film enters a repetitive rhythm of simmering anguish, and never really