Nicolas Cage’s Jesus-Inspired Horror The Carpenter’s Son Drops on Digital

A Nicolas Cage horror movie about the childhood of Jesus quietly slipped into theaters about a month ago and almost nobody noticed. The Carpenter's Son made just $143,615 worldwide. Now it is trying a second life on digital, conveniently timed for the holidays.

What it is (and yes, that premise is real)

The Carpenter's Son is a dark, moody riff set in Roman Egypt, where a family is laying low. Their kid, known only as 'the Boy', starts questioning everything after crossing paths with another mysterious child. That doubt pushes him to rebel against his guardian, the Carpenter, which brings out powers he barely understands. Once that door opens, the family draws the attention of some nasty things, both earthly and... not.

How to watch

It is out on digital now. On Amazon, you can rent it for $9.99 or buy it for $16.99.

Who is in it

• Nicolas Cage as the Carpenter
• FKA twigs as the Mother (fresh off the new remake of The Crow)
• Noah Jupe as the Boy
• Isla Johnston (The Queen's Gambit)
• Souheila Yacoub (Dune: Part Two)
• Kaiti Manolidaki (Rapsodos)
• Penelope Markopoulou (Meta ti fotia)
• Tomer Lev Tov (Last X-Mas)
• Newcomer Erato Tziveleki

Who made it (and where it came from)

Writer-director Lotfy Nathan took inspiration from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal text from the 2nd century that tells stories about Jesus as a child. Nathan previously made the dirt-biking doc 12 O'Clock Boys and the 2022 drama Harka. It is an unusual mix: prestige-leaning filmmaker, bold religious-horror concept, and Nicolas Cage glowering as the Carpenter.

The early reaction

Not great so far. JoBlo critic Tyler Nichols gave it a 5/10 and called it a waste of Cage. His takeaway pretty much sums up the vibe:

Ultimately, The Carpenter's Son has some intriguing moments but it mostly feels a bit stale. It seems like they veered off too much for religious folks, and kept in line too much to be an entertaining horror film. It is Biblical in nature, but never really gets to the meat of anything important.

Bottom line

The premise is a swing, the box office was not a miracle, and the digital release arrives just in time for curious viewers to check it out at home. If you are Cage-curious or into strange Biblical horror, this is probably where you hit play.