Nicolas Cage is leading Lotfy Nathan’s The Carpenter’s Son, which focuses on Jesus’ childhood, with an added horror twist. The premise alone is enough to stir controversy among religious circles, and according to its synopsis, the movie will follow the inner turmoil of a boy whose family becomes the target of unnatural forces after he starts exercising his powers.
While Christ’s name isn’t explicitly stated, it’s evident that Cage’s horror thriller is a reimagining of Christ’s childhood, and is currently the favorite to dethrone The Passion of Christ for the most controversial Jesus Christ movie.
The Carpenter’s Son Doesn’t Draw from the Official Bible Canon
It’s not an exaggeration that Cage’s horror can nab the title of the most controversial Jesus movie to date. The movie doesn’t borrow from the Bible, at least the stories that are accepted as canonical in the biblical canon. Instead, the movie is said to be inspired by the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas (via Deadline), which largely focuses on Christ’s childhood growing up.
To put into perspective, Mel Gibson‘s The Passion of the Christ drew controversy, despite being largely accurate to the Bible. The movie did take some artistic liberties, whether it was the extent of Jesus’ suffering or Satan appearing during his agony. But by far, the most controversial addition to the movie was Caiaphas’s portrayal as the orchestrator of the plot to kill Jesus, and actor Jason Isaacs also weighed in to condemn the movie’s depiction of Jews.
Considering the official Bible texts touch little on Christ’s childhood, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas is largely considered fictional and exaggerated in religious circles because of Christ’s exhibition of anger and unpredictability.
On the flip side, from an artistic perspective, it can make for an unconventional and fresh narrative if done right. For viewers who aren’t too thrilled about this project, they can always fall back on Gibson’s upcoming sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
The Carpenter’s Son Continues Nicolas Cage’s Dark Late-Stage Horror Run
Given Cage’s filmography in recent years, the horror reimagining of Jesus’ childhood comes as largely unsurprising, as it seems something right up his alley. Since getting off his lukewarm run on the big screen, mostly stemming from financial reasons, the actor has leaned heavily into the horror landscape.
A still from Longlegs | Credit: Neon
From Mandy, Arcadian, Renfield, and Longlegs, the actor has developed a steady habit of giving it his all for horror-centric movies. Going by The Carpenter’s Son’s brief teaser, it might be his craziest venture yet, which is saying a lot when it comes to Cage.
Some of his most notable horror features in recent memory are listed below:
MoviesIMDbRT scoreWilly’s Wonderland5.561%Renfield6.458%Arcadian5.878%The Surfer (not a traditional horror)685%Longlegs6.686%
In addition to the Oscar-winning star, the Holy family features FKA Twigs and Noah Jupe, and the movie will be distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
Share your thoughts on this unconventional Christ story below!
The Carpenter’s Son is slated to release in the Fall of 2025 (USA).
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