Warning: Apocryphal Spoilers Ahead!

When The Carpenter’s Son was released in 2025, it was described as “Bible horror” involving teenage Jesus. This fact alone was already a strong indicator that something would be terribly wrong with that movie.

Then, it was announced that the Virgin Mary would be played by … FKA Twigs?

The blaring miscasting continued with Joseph being played by Nicolas Cage. It is seriously ridiculous. Throughout the movie, we’re watching FKA Twigs (and her iPhone face) speak with a British accent while Nicolas Cage (who is constantly freaking out) yells back in an American accent. None of it is remotely believable, and this might very well be by design.

The Carpenter’s Son is not about being believable or even entertaining; it is about desecrating the Holy Family and Christianity as a whole in a succession of highly symbolic scenes.

And the symbolism starts before the movie even begins.

As explained in previous articles, Saturn is esoterically associated with Satan. Saturn (Cronus) represents the limitations of the material world, as opposed to the sun’s divine light. In various mythologies, Saturn is associated with ancient deities such as Moloch and Baal and was later merged with Pan (the horned goat) to shape the modern image of the Devil.

In short, the movie’s motivations were not very Christian. Although it is described as a “biblical thriller,” none of its story can be found in the Bible. Instead, it is loosely inspired by the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal text from the 2nd century, which was described as “inauthentic and heretical” by early Christian writers.

Written by an unknown author, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas describes the life of the child Jesus from the ages of five to twelve, as he experiences bizarre, supernatural, and even malevolent events. For instance, the text contains stories where Jesus uses a curse to kill children who get in his way. He also blinds his neighbours as retaliation for complaining about his family.

The movie’s writer and director, Lotfy Nathan, was clearly inspired by this “evil Jesus” narrative. However, he took some great liberties with the story, adding Satan as a main character, even though the text makes no mention of him.

The rest of the movie is pretty much the director doing whatever he wants with the Holy Family as characters in a horror movie. And the result is … horrific.

Unholy Family

The Carpenter’s Son begins with FKA Twigs giving birth, squatting. While this position was the norm at the time, the scene immediately accomplishes one of the movie’s goals: making the Holy Family more human than divine.

After Jesus’ birth, the family flees to Egypt because King Herod ordered the execution of all male children under the age of two.

After this horrific scene, the movie fast-forwards 15 years.

As Jesus looks suspiciously at everyone in the village, we hear demonic whispers, hinting at the fact that Satan is in control of this land. This will occur throughout the movie.

Most of the movie’s scenes take place in desolate settings where pain, suffering, sickness, and death are prevalent. In this godless context, Joseph has to betray his beliefs and carve wooden idols to make a living.

Once again, the movie’s makers fabricated this part of the story, as there are no mentions of Joseph ever making idols. As a Jewish man living under the Law of Moses, creating idols would have been a direct violation of the Ten Commandments, which strictly prohibit making, bowing down to, or serving idols. However, scenes such as this one serve the movie’s true purpose: To turn the Holy family into an unholy family.

The desecration also applies to Jesus. Throughout the movie, he is yelled at, called a liar, slapped behind the head, and even spat at. When he becomes aware of his powers, Jesus is less a miracle worker and more a sorcerer who uses his “magic powers” to attack or even kill those who get in his way. This leads the townspeople to accuse him of being “Belial” – a biblical word describing the Devil.

Of course, this angers Joseph, who constantly berates Jesus.

Notice Joseph’s hands in the screenshot above. It is seen throughout the movie. Praying with one’s palms up (called Oran’s posture) is a sign of adoration and submission. Joseph has a bizarre version of it, with his hands clenched in anger towards God.

Joseph also has profound anger against Jesus. In the scene above, Joseph asks God:

“Is he from your angels or from demons? Is he your son?”

Joseph constantly complains about Jesus and heavily doubts his heavenly status. After wondering if Mary copulated with a Roman soldier (what?), he accuses Jesus of practicing black magic, adding:

“He who is near him is near the fire!”

At one point, he tells Mary:

“He’s unclean. He defiles himself, always covered in filth.”

What does Joseph mean by “defiles himself”? The movie implies some rather weird things about teenage Jesus.

In Christian theology, Jesus is considered both the Son of God and God in human flesh. However, he’s definitely not godly in The Carpenter’s Son. 

There is no religious text, biblical or otherwise, that documents a relationship between Jesus and a girl named Lilith. It is one of the many fabrications in the movie. However, it has a symbolic meaning.

The girl’s name is not random: Lilith is the primordial “she-demon” cited in the mythology of multiple civilizations.

Lilith, female demonic figure of Jewish folklore. Her name and personality are thought to be derived from the class of Mesopotamian demons called lilû (feminine: lilītu), and the name is usually translated as “night monster.”
– Encyclopædia Britannica

Appropriately enough, Lilith gets possessed by a demon later in the movie, and Jesus is accused of violating her.

Jesus befriends another demonic figure in the movie: Satan.

Satan’s Friend

Not only do Satan and Jesus become friends, but she also becomes something of a mentor to him. Satan makes him aware of his powers and informs him that Joseph is not his true father but “his oppressor”.

As they spend time together, Satan tells her “origin story” where she appears sympathetic, while God comes off as jealous and insecure.

“I was a very beautiful thing. Such a thing I cannot describe in words. He shunned me. He would let no one be his equal.”

In the Bible, Jesus dominates Satan and various demons. In The Carpenter’s Son, it’s the other way around.

After this display of power, Satan forces Jesus to say her name. This is less a movie and more a Satanic fanfiction at this point.

When Joseph finds the two friends bonding, he sees a very different Satan.

Then, Satan violently attacks Joseph while bragging to Jesus:

“He reveres me for my cruelty. Because he fears me!”

In The Carpenter’s Son, Satan violently murders Joseph (while stating that he “reveres” her) as Jesus stands by powerless.

When Jesus tries to use his powers to heal him, Joseph stops him, because, apparently, he wants to die and abandon his family. Kind of cowardly. In other words, he denies God’s help while allowing Satan to win over him.

As Joseph dies, he asks Jesus:

– What awaits us when we turn to death?

– Dust.

I’m not a theologian, but doesn’t this contradict Jesus’ entire teaching that his followers receive eternal life? Does that mean that Joseph is not one of his followers?

After this baffling interaction, Jesus goes back to Satan … and hugs her.

Jesus doesn’t contradict Satan on this. He just remains silent, implying agreement to this Satanic statement.

In Conclusion

The Carpenter’s Son is one of those movies where one can immediately feel that something terribly wrong is happening. It is not just about the bad acting, the pointless narrative, or the glaring biblical inaccuracies; it is about the mean-spirited energy that permeates it.

Either we are hearing demonic voices in the background, characters cursing God, or Jesus being dominated by Satan. We are not watching a movie; we are watching Hollywood weirdos partaking in an organized desecration of Christianity.

In short, The Carpenter’s Son is a perfect representation of the entertainment industry’s moral corruption: It promotes a movie under the “biblical” pretenses while it is nothing less than a Satanic manifesto.

With that said, does this movie have any redeeming qualities? Yes, it is relatively short. Thank God.