The Carpenter's Son

I love how experimental Nicolas Cage's filmography is, so I'm always ready to watch whatever he's in. Some are excellent, some not so much, but this? Terrible. The performances are great, the casting is awful, the production is amazing, the cinematography is restrained, the story is boring, the pacing is sluggish, and the dialogue is odd. As for the religious stuff, I was invested, and then I wasn't. To put it short, 90 minutes felt like 300.

4.4 - I’m not sure this will be as divisive as one might expect, because all sides should find it pretty bad, though for different reasons.

The concept is where this shines. Turning an apocryphal Gospel into a version of horror is a fantastic angle to attempt, at face value. I doubt there are enough people in the general public that are familiar with the actual source to question decisions made, but there’s enough general knowledge about the people that inspired these characters to be able to easily form an opinion. And because of that, undoubtedly, many Christians will hate this & label it as blasphemy.

But, while I love the idea, I was underwhelmed by the execution.

On the whole, I’m unsure if it’s a lack of depth to the source, or a concern for the backlash that this may bring, but this ultimately felt mostly toothless in the horror elements from the audience perspective. It’s clear at times that there is horror for the characters, but the stakes are so low for us. Not enough is shown or heard until we near the end to build up adequate tension. And when that’s paired with an, at times, slow-paced, winding, & occasionally confusing story & screenplay in the first two-thirds, it gets to be difficult to stay with.

The rest of the good parts are Nic Cage continuing his streak of doing whatever the hell project he wants with as much of his own style as he can, Noah Jupe carrying any & all fear & general emotion, & some beautiful scenery & cinematography.

All in, I think there’s something here, just not as much as I hoped. But if religious horror is your thing, it’s probably worth the 90 minute investment from home. And I would be more than happy to see more takes on the apocryphal gospels as a new source with a wealth of stories, especially approached with a horror lens.

what a fucking disappointmenttttt

what a fucking disappointmenttttt

One of Nic Cage’s better geezer teasers. Light on the horror, but it does have a moody atmosphere and good acting, especially from the creepy girl. This would make for a good double feature with Death or Robin Hood, as there's a lot of crossover.

50% is right on target…not the worst but far from interesting or introspective.