The Surfer
Directed by Lorcan FinneganA man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. When he is humiliated by a group of locals, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising and pushes him to his breaking point.
Cast of The Surfer
The Surfer Ratings & Reviews
- rojo.b4d agoFun paranoid descent into madness, even without the follow through.
- Alex LJuly 26, 2025Totally wasted time. No sense.
- RipLinesManApril 20, 2025The Surfer and Event Horizon (1997) both trap their protagonists in hostile spaces that seem to breathe with personal malice — one scorched by sun and silence, the other adrift in cold, cosmic ruin. Nicolas Cage’s character is pushed to the edge not by physical violence, but by a creeping erosion of control, dignity, and belonging. Like Captain Miller aboard the Event Horizon, he’s not just challenged — he’s dismantled. The beach is a mirror just as the ship was: reflecting back guilt, shame, and the failure to protect. Where Event Horizon weaponizes memory into madness, The Surfer uses heat, isolation, and local cruelty to boil its protagonist down to raw instinct. Both men face a reckoning not with an enemy, but with themselves — surrounded by people who either won’t help or can’t. One ends with fire, the other with water. But in both, peace is earned only after the soul has been scorched clean.
- Michael HarrisonMay 10, 2025I'd fear if you were high when watching this it'd be a total head fuck and you'd just want to die.
- GromithJuly 24, 2025Another Nicolas Cage masterpiece, another hour (or two, but who's counting the agonizing seconds?) I'll never get back. Truly, if you're looking for an actor who can deliver lines with the emotional nuance of a particularly confused potato, then congratulations, you've found your man. I'm pretty sure my houseplants developed a more compelling character arc during the runtime. This wasn't a movie; it was an involuntary time-travel experiment, and I've emerged older, wiser, and significantly more resentful.
- Kit LazerApril 30, 2025The Wizard of Oz directed by Oliver Stone
- jackmeatJuly 15, 2025My quick rating - 6.2/10. Some movies take you on a clear journey. The Surfer instead plops you down on a sun-bleached Australian beach next to a delirious Nicolas Cage and tells you to fend for yourself. And honestly? That’s kind of the joy of it. Without Cage, this is half the movie it was. In this hauntingly bizarre psychological spiral, Cage plays an American who returns with his son to the idyllic coastal spot of his childhood, hoping to share some gentle waves and nostalgic memories. Instead, he runs smack into a gang of sneering local surfers, led by Scally (Julian McMahon), who make it their mission to humiliate, torment, and spiritually waterboard him right there in the sand. What starts as casual gatekeeping escalates into relentless harassment, gaslighting, and a truly staggering amount of sunburn. It’s a role that only a handful of actors could pull off, and Nic Cage is absolutely at the top of that short list. Watching him endure wave after wave of physical punishment, dehydration, and mental games is somehow both excruciating and wildly entertaining. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I enjoyed seeing someone suffer on screen this much. Not because I’m a sadist (probably), but because Cage sells it with such fragile, sun-stroked commitment that you can’t look away. Despite the heavy layers of cruelty, The Surfer maintains a strangely whimsical, almost comedic vibe. There’s a dreamy undercurrent that constantly made me wonder if any of this was actually happening, or if Cage’s character was simply hallucinating from heat and humiliation. At times, the film teeters right over the line into absurdity, so much so that I found myself laughing at moments that probably weren’t intended to be funny. Picture Cage, sweaty and half-mad, ranting on the beach while locals stare at him like a washed-up jellyfish. It’s surreal cinema gold. The movie doesn’t bother to hold your hand, either. It strands you in the hot sand right alongside Cage, offering no easy explanations or tidy moral lessons. I kept finding myself squinting at the screen, trying to figure out if this was a psychological meltdown, a literal dream, or some cruel Aussie social experiment. By the end, I felt as sunbaked and parched as Cage in the best possible way. If the story sometimes floats adrift, it’s anchored by breathtaking cinematography. Director Lorcan Finnegan captures the shimmering surf and harsh coastal glare in a way that’s hypnotic, making The Surfer as much an audiovisual experience as it is a narrative. The sound design alone is worth the ride, washing over you in crashing waves and echoing dread. Ultimately, The Surfer is less about clean storytelling and more about mood, madness, and watching Nicolas Cage disintegrate under the Aussie sun with style. It’s surreal, introspective, a touch hilarious, and technically gorgeous. I had a blast being confused and uncomfortable, and if that’s your cinematic jam, you probably will too.
- Gen LockJune 22, 2025What a boring nonsense, wasted time I am afraid.
- Fidel Lopez3304n;Terry'streetJuly 5, 2025Feetbeard Feetbeard
- FigueiragamesJuly 1, 2025This film is very dope nicolas aways delivery thanks
- CrootieJuly 1, 2025What a shitty movie. Complete waste of time
- nars75June 29, 2025No idea what Nicholas cage was thinking being in this dire movie
- adam3199June 29, 2025Only half a star because I cannot give it no stars. This stream of consciousness film is an ultra cheap production based entirely on Nik Cage being availabkle to come to Perth for what was propbably a 2 week holliday and a paid few hundred grand. He probably does this all over the world among asian commercials for booze. This from the guy that did Leaving Las Vegas....wow, its like watching steven segal punching shopping carts
- [ e c k o b a s e ]June 28, 2025An acid trip horror of what happens when all you wanna do is surf but the people are very territorial. Not a great look for Australian's haha but an amazing performance by Cage as always! #DontLiveHereCantSurfHere
- Sam GuyJune 26, 2025If you like looking at nick cages face really close up,watch it! If you're hoping it's about surfing don't bother.
