The Surfer (2025) - Film Review

      The Surfer, 2025.

      Directed by Lorcan Finnegan.

      Featuring Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Justin Rosniak, Alexander Bertrand, Rahel Romahn, Nicholas Cassim, Finn Little, Charlotte Maggi, Nina Young, James Bingham, Miranda Tapsell, Radek Jonak, Rory O’Keeffe, Talon Hopper, Sally Clune, Gautier de Fontaine, Jake Fryer-Hornsby, Adam Leeuwenhart, Dean McAskil, Tobiasz Rodney, Adam Sollis, Oliver Webb, Daniel Williamson, and Austen Wilmot.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A man revisits the blissful beach of his youth to surf with his son. After facing humiliation at the hands of some locals, he finds himself embroiled in an escalating conflict that tests his limits.

      On a drive to an Australian beach with his son, Nicolas Cage's character, credited as The Surfer, gives a speech about embracing life's waves (essentially), which he frames as a metaphor for life’s ups and downs. It’s a humorous, tongue-in-cheek moment, but as the simplistic premise of Lorcan Finnegan’s direction and Thomas Martin’s writing unfolds, the film quickly becomes excruciating to endure, particularly as the central message is heavily reiterated by the 30-minute mark. In retrospect, the filmmakers appear to declare right away, “this is all we have” in their take on Wake in Fright, a renowned Australian film exploring themes of toxic masculinity that has gained renewed significance in the realm of psychological horror over recent years.

      Having shared a love for surfing with his late father before that tragic loss, attributed to his mother relocating the family to Los Angeles (a clever means of sidestepping the potential accent issues of Australian-born Nicolas Cage), The Surfer seeks to reconnect with his teenage son, Finn Little, credited as The Kid. However, it soon becomes clear that this presumably affluent businessman is under the delusion that purchasing his childhood home will remedy his midlife crisis, which includes his wife leaving him and his subsequent involvement with another man. The Kid is unenthusiastic about spending Christmas with his father and generally seems uninterested in engaging.

      That proves to be the least of The Surfer's challenges; upon arriving at his childhood beach, he discovers it is now controlled by a trust-fund psychopathic cult leader named Scally (Julian McMahon), who indoctrinates the local beachgoers into believing that suffering is essential to achieving a transcendental freedom and fulfilling one's dreams. This realization means that he and the surrounding locals are determined to psychologically torment The Surfer in every conceivable way.

      This manipulation plays out like a 4-D chess game, resulting in The Surfer losing everything—from his surfboard to the opportunity to buy back his childhood home, his treasured watch passed down from his father, his car, wallet, and phone. Why stop there? He also suffers physical assaults on multiple occasions and ultimately finds himself with nothing to drink except foul-tasting bathroom water.

      The silver lining is that Nicolas Cage doesn't go for the over-the-top portrayal; instead, he delivers a more subtle, pitiable mental breakdown, aligning with the cult’s slow and steady psychological manipulation. Throughout this surreal spiral into madness, various questions arise, such as why the police seem to allow the chaos (the cult violently attacks anyone who isn’t local) and whether it holds significance that his only ally is an elderly bearded man who also has a vendetta against these crazies and looks uncannily like a heavily made-up Nicolas Cage. None of these questions receive answers.

      Kudos go to cinematographer Radek Ladczuk for capturing the intense heat of Christmas-time Australia by the beach, at times leaving viewers unsure whether Nicolas Cage appears sunburned or bruised. Regardless, he consistently looks like a disheveled, sweaty, red-faced mess throughout his unending nightmare. There’s also a hazy, dreamlike score from composer François Tétaz that enhances the mood.

      The film’s surreal and absurd tone is reminiscent of Lorcan Finnegan’s earlier psychological thriller, Vivarium, which also dealt with a subversion of suburban life (more focused on the horrors of parenting). However, that film seemed more striking in its style and horror, knowing what message it aimed to convey and how to effectively deliver it. In contrast, The Surfer proves to be increasingly frustrating as viewers await Nicolas Cage to take action against his circumstances. Meanwhile, the cult comes off as an afterthought, with characterization reduced to a clichéd take on toxic masculinity. These are waves that aren’t worth riding; wiping out and drowning would likely be more entertaining and eventful.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

      Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association,