The Surfer

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2:24

The Surfer

R

May 2025

1h 43m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

173 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

250+ Verified Ratings

In the psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan, a man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is "don't live here, don't surf here." Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.

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Critics Consensus

Nicolas Cage expertly rides the waves of toxic masculinity in this sand filled arena of torment.

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Audience Says

While the story is too flat for most to ride, Nicolas Cage beguiles as The Surfer, and the iconic Australian backdrop makes for a stunning screensaver.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

It trades in vibes rather than ideas and as such, it probably shouldn’t work as well as it does. But there’s a horribly compulsive quality to this meltdown of a movie.

Oct 8, 2025

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

...although there should be a moral in [the plot] somewhere, the result is so risible and Cage’s performance so ridiculous that all you can do is laugh.

Rated: 2/5

May 14, 2025

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

Cosmic philosophizing turns into something kind of like Iron John toxic masculinity with a little Dostoevsky's The Devils... Freakingly bonkers.

May 14, 2025

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Asia Frey

Lagniappe (Mobile, AL)

The Nicolas Cage completist will want to experience it, and I thought all the performances were quite good. I don’t know if the concept was complex or worthwhile enough to justify the painful viewing experience.

Rated: C

Sep 25, 2025

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Vinamra Mathur

Firstpost

At its heart, The Surfer is a film where a father wishes to fulfil his son’s desire to surf. It all boils down to the same old trope about how a parent will go to any lengths for family.

Rated: 2.5/5

Sep 24, 2025

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Samarth Goyal

Hindustan Times

It’s not a perfect film, but it is a hypnotic one: a gritty, surreal fable about obsession and exclusion, dressed up as a sunburnt survival thriller.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 18, 2025

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Larry

not my cup of tea...

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/17/25

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Tim

Just Wow! lol This one will leave you thinking. Cage is awesome in this roll, completely out of his mind in the best kind of way!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

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Sam

I like that it was filmed in Australia but it basically took place in the same area the whole movie. It ended to quickly and the end was not good.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/20/25

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Karo B

Very boring, makes no sense of his decisions. I left before the movie was over. It’s one of the worse movies I’ve seen!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/14/25

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Rob

Nicholas Cage is brilliant as always but the movie itself I found dull and weird.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

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Sean

Good atmosphere, wish Nick Cage Caged out more though, but overall a good movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/14/25

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Lorcan Finnegan

Director

Nicolas Cage

The Surfer

Julian McMahon

Scally

Nicholas Cassim

The Bum

Miranda Tapsell

The Photographer

Alexander Bertrand

Pitbull

The Surfer: Movie Clip - My Board

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The Surfer: Exclusive Featurette - Eat the Rat

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The Surfer: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan, a man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is "don't live here, don't surf here." Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.

Director: Lorcan Finnegan
Producer: Leonora Darby, James Harris, Robert Connolly, James Grandison, Brunella Cocchiglia, Nicolas Cage, Nathan Klingher
Screenwriter: Thomas Martin
Distributor: Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions
Production Co: Arenamedia, Tea Shop Productions
Rating: R (Language|Drug Content|Sexual Material|Some Violence|Suicide)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2025, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 6, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3M
Runtime: 1h 43m

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