You have to give writer/director Lofty Nathan points for originality. His new film, *The Carpenter’s Son*, is not just any standard telling of the oft-told story of Joseph, Mary, and their son, Jesus. Rather, it’s a bold speculation on Jesus’s teenage years—exploring his conflicts with his devoutly religious father, his growing pains, and particularly his temptations as he runs with the wrong crowd. Notably, Satan is portrayed in the form of a determined teenage girl.
The passions of this Christ have not been told quite this way before. This low-budget horror poses as a not-quite-biblical epic. While we’ve seen plenty of both genres before, not many films have attempted this kind of cinematic mixtape. The results may not fully please devotees of either genre, but at least it’s different.
Leaning heavily into his own Orthodox Coptic Christian upbringing and borrowing liberally from the rather obscure *Infancy Gospel of Thomas*—which contains material absent from the New Testament—Nathan dives into largely speculative territory regarding Jesus’s teen years. Noah Jupe plays Jesus with a curly-haired, moptop earnestness, depicting his upbringing by a strict and deeply devout father, Joseph (Nicolas Cage), and a more understanding, supportive mother, Mary (FKA Twigs). The family lives in exile in Roman Egypt, a dangerous place to grow up.
The film begins in a rather dark and harrowing fashion with baby Jesus’s birth, before jumping to AD 15—the age of this young man. He is confronted by holy terror in many forms: a nearby leper colony, the Place of Punishment where crucifixions regularly occur, and ominous serpent-like creatures invading the bodies of the living. Most haunting of all is a mysterious stranger—a fresh-faced young woman played by Isla Johnston—who lures Jesus into her trap with true temptation. She soon reveals her actual identity as none other than the Devil, albeit one with ruby-red lips.
Yes, this territory has been visited many times before, often in contemporary settings such as *The Exorcist*. But to see this kind of horror within a genre-bending supernatural thriller set in biblical times is a fresh perspective. For starters, Joseph has never been presented as quite this tortured of a soul. Cage, fitting more convincingly into the biblical era than, say, Richard Gere did in *King David*, delivers a compelling portrayal of a man who at one point literally says he is “shattering.” Joseph is a father deeply concerned for his son and often at odds with him, even unsure if he is truly his father.
Mother Mary is the opposite—completely believing in Jesus’s goodness and his potential to change the world. FKA Twigs ably fills the role but isn’t given the kind of acting showcase Cage commands here. As for Jupe, he comes off as a typical teenage boy in many ways, albeit one just discovering his unique and extraordinary powers. A subtle preview of his potential comes in a scene where he mercilessly kills an insect and then brings it back to life, later extending those powers by pulling snakes from the throats of those about to die.
Yet Jesus is at a crossroads, and the temptations posed by this incarnation of the soulful-eyed Satan provide plenty of internal conflict.
*The Carpenter’s Son* was shot almost entirely in Greece, with a large Greek crew. Locations in Crete and Attica convincingly double for the family’s actual home base. Simon Beaufils contributed dark yet atmospheric cinematography, while Jean-Vincent Puzos’s production design remains faithful to what is known about films set in this period. Special effects makeup designer Oriane De Neve also deserves a shout-out for her work.
Mel Gibson’s *The Passion of the Christ* portrayed a brutally violent and R-rated glimpse into Jesus’s future. Nathan’s film relies more on conjuring psychological and supernatural frights to present a Jesus we have never seen before.
It may well be the first faith-based horror film—a genre mashup and coming-of-age story timed just in time for the holidays.
**Title:** The Carpenter’s Son
**Distributor:** Magnolia Pictures
**Release Date:** November 14, 2025
**Director/Screenplay:** Lofty Nathan
**Cast:** Nicolas Cage, FKA Twigs, Noah Jupe, Isla Johnston, Souheila Yacoub
**Rating:** R
https://deadline.com/2025/11/the-carpenters-son-review-nicolas-cage-biblical-horror-1236614411/
