Holy Terror Breaks Loose in Nicolas Cage’s ‘The Carpenter’s Son’

A striking new entry in the year’s genre landscape arrives this week as The Carpenter’s Son opens in UK and Irish cinemas on Friday. Marketed as the “Jesus horror”, the film blends biblical lore, supernatural menace and a family under siege, with Nicolas Cage, FKA twigs and Noah Jupe leading a cast that pushes the premise far beyond traditional religious drama.

Set in Roman-era Egypt, the story follows Joseph, Mary and their teenage son during their years in exile, a period largely absent from established scripture but reimagined here with unnerving consequence. Their attempt to keep a low profile in a remote settlement fractures the moment a mysterious local girl begins to exert an unsettling influence on young Jesus. What initially appears to be a simple act of curiosity soon distorts into something far darker, as Joseph becomes convinced that the force manipulating his son is not of this world. Their faith is tested not through parables, but through an encroaching terror that infiltrates every corner of the village.

Writer and director Lotfy Nathan draws on apocryphal texts and his Coptic Christian upbringing to present a version of the holy family rarely depicted on screen. He treats the material with a sense of historical immediacy, using genre not for shock value but as a lens through which to explore a world where spiritual forces were perceived as intrinsic to daily life. That approach gives the film its stark tone, merging naturalistic detail with visions of the divine and demonic clashing in the margins of an already fragile community.

Cage continues his recent run of bold genre work following Longlegs and Mandy, playing Joseph as a man whose devotion is tested by the possibility that his child is being drawn toward a force intent on corrupting him. FKA twigs brings emotional grounding to Mary’s growing fear that their flight from danger may have only placed them in the path of something more insidious. Jupe, taking on one of his most challenging roles, navigates a boyhood caught between spiritual expectation and a supernatural lure that threatens to consume him. Isla Johnston also features prominently as the enigmatic girl who sparks the film’s escalating unease, joined by Souheila Yacoub in a role that reinforces the film’s sense of a community under pressure.

Altitude will release the film in UK and Irish cinemas from 21 November, with digital availability beginning 22 December and physical formats following in February.

The Carpenter’s Son trailer