THE FUSE

Some movies court controversy, others painstakingly avoid it. “The Carpenter’s Son” has managed both, its very concept inevitably drawing a degree of hostile advance attention, while the feature itself bypassed festivals and other typical platforms for pre-release exposure. Writer-director Lotfy Nathan’s project has been billed as a horror film about the young Jesus Christ — an idea bound to strike many as considerably more offensive than the recent slasher-cinema exploitations of such expired-copyright characters as Mickey Mouse and Winnie-the-Pooh. That prospect was only reinforced by the casting of Nicolas Cage, an actor by now inextricably associated with gonzo performances and over-the-top cult cinema.