Ahead of its release, the first reviews for Nicolas Cage’s The Carpenter’s Son are coming in, but its genre-bending nature may not be enough to impress critics. Also starring Noah Jupe and FKA Twigs, the upcoming biblical horror follows the carpenter and his family when an unknown supernatural entity targets them in a remote Egyptian village.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, The Carpenter’s Son currently has a 33% critical score based on 12 reviews. While the score will likely fluctuate when more reviews come in, the horror movie is currently designated “rotten” on the site.
The Carpenter’s Son reviews are pretty mixed to negative, especially given the horror twist in the Jesus Christ story. While the movie’s positive aspects include its horror visuals and brutality, several critics argue that it is too dry and boring in its depiction of the biblical story.
ScreenRant‘s Gregory Nussen stood with the majority on The Carpenter’s Son, sharing similar sentiments about the pacing issue: “The first two acts move like molasses, brimming with allegory that never quite translates off the page.” In addition, they also found Cage and Twigs’ roles out of place in the horror, while Jupe, who plays The Boy, seems to be the saving grace.
The Carpenter’s Son will be Cage’s third and final movie, releasing in 2025, in what has been a mixed year for the star. While he started strong with The Surfer, which scored 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, his follow-up, Gunslingers, had abysmal critical and audience scores of 5% and 19%, respectively.
|
Nicolas Cage’s 2025 Movies |
Rotten Tomatoes’ Critical Score |
Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
|
The Surfer |
84% |
47% |
|
Gunslingers |
5% |
19% |
|
The Carpenter’s Son |
33% |
N/A |
On the other hand, The Carpenter’s Son was already a controversial movie to begin with due to the profane depiction of Jesus Christ with the horror elements. Some Christians raised concerns that the new biblical movie could mock religious followers and called the dark portrayal blasphemous, leading to a boycott following the trailer release. Some of these issues were also brought up by critics, who believe the film may alienate both religious audiences and traditional horror moviegoers.
Nevertheless, Cage remains one of the busiest stars in Hollywood, with at least three more projects expected to be released in the future. The Prince and the sports biopic, Madden, are already in post-production, while he is filming a historical spy movie, Fortitude, directed by Simon West.
The Carpenter’s Son will have a limited theatrical release on November 14, 2025.
- Release Date
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October 30, 2025
- Director
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Lotfy Nathan
- Writers
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Lotfy Nathan