By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Those who worship Cage will find plenty to celebrate in this horrific variation on the story of Jesus.
Magnolia Pictures releases THE CARPENTER’S SON to theaters nationwide November 14. Written and directed by Lotfy Nathan, it stars Nicolas Cage, FKA twigs, Noah Jupe (A QUIET PLACE) and Isla Johnston. The synopsis: “A remote village in Roman-era Egypt explodes into spiritual warfare when a carpenter, his wife and their child are targeted by supernatural forces. Joseph [Cage], Mary [twigs] and their teenage son Jesus [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 [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. Writer and director Lotfy Nathan, drawing from his Coptic Christian background, delivers a meticulously crafted, genre-bending supernatural thriller packed with unshakeable images of the divine and demonic at war.”
