Film Review

The Surfer (2024) — Nicolas Cage rides high in wild and unforgettable psychological thriller

A man returns to the beach of his childhood to surf with his son, but is pushed to breaking point after being humiliated by a group of locals…

Even if you’re not the biggest Nicolas Cage fan, you have to admire his work ethic. According to various sources, he’s appeared in close to 120 films. Sure, some of these are mediocre to bad (especially between 2009–17), but in recent times, most of Cage’s movies have been worth checking out. Ones that spring to mind include Mandy (2018), Pig (2021) and (2022). Fortunately, his latest, The Surfer, is another solid entry.

Set in the fictional Lunar Bay, on the south-western Australian coast, Cage is the eponymous surfer who has returned with his teenage son to where he grew up so that he can buy his old family home. The property deal has yet to be finalised: to secure the mortgage he needs to find an extra $100K in less than 24 hours. Cage’s unnamed character wants to take his son…