Cage rages at the devil himself in this provocative theological thriller.
There’s been no shortage of religious horror films over the years. The Exorcist is the big one, of course, but we’ve had a recent glut with the likes of The First Omen, Immaculate, Heretic, and the delightfully bonkers Russell Crowe vehicle, The Pope’s Exorcist.
But if anyone can outdo Rusty in the bonkers department, it’s the reliably mental Nicolas Cage. Cage is the the titular woodworker here, who happens to be the father of the Messiah. Yes, this one really puts the “religious” in “religious” horror, but hopefully in a good way.
The Carpenter’s Son Trailer
What’s the plot?
Well, there’s this messiah, see…
Just kidding. Written and directed by Lotfy Nathan, who took inspiration from both his own Coptic Christian upbringing and the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas, The Carpenter’s Son sets its scene during the officially undocumented childhood of Jesus, when little J and his family were refugees in Egypt.
There, as the official synopsis tells us:
A remote village in Roman-era Egypt explodes into spiritual warfare when a carpenter, his wife and their child are targeted by supernatural forces in The Carpenter’s Son. Joseph (Nicolas Cage), Mary (FKA Twigs) and their teenage son Jesus (Noah Jupe) have lived for years under threat, clinging to their faith and traditions. But a stopover in a small settlement unleashes growing chaos when a mysterious stranger (Isla Johnston) tries to entice young Jesus to abandon his devout father’s rules. With every pull of temptation, the boy is lured into a forbidden world, as a terrified Joseph realizes that a demonic power is at work. Violent, unnatural events inexplicably follow Jesus, and he begins to experience nightmarish visions of the future. Finally, he learns the fearsome truth about his new playmate, as well as the child’s real name: Satan.
Who’s in it?
- Nicolas Cage as Joseph the carpenter.
- FKA Twigs as Mary, his wife.
- Noah Jupe as Jesus.
- Isla Johnston as… well, Satan.
When’s it out?
The Carpenter’s Son is slated for a November 14 US release, with a local release TBD.
What’s the vibe?
*Taps chin thoughtfully before raising a single finger*
The thing about religious horror as a rule is that it’s usually Catholic or a broad facsimile thereof, and built around made up conspiracies rather than real ones that are way wilder, by and large (the whole P2 thing is right there). But the Apocrypha? The books of the bible that aren’t recognised by the Church? Man, that’s where you get some truly weird shit. Jesus kills a kid and blinds his family in the Infancy Gospel, for crying out loud, and resurrects enough people for it to qualify as necromancy. What I’m saying is that if The Carpenter’s Son captures a tenth of that free-balling energy, it could be the “meticulously crafted, genre-bending supernatural thriller” they’re selling it as.
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