*Nicolas Cage’s ‘The Surfer’ premieres September 19 on Lionsgate Play: A mind bending adventure unleashed*
_Directed by Lorcan Finnegan, The Surfer unveils a darker, unexpected side of Nic Cage_
Lionsgate Play brings a sunburnt fever dream to your screen as The Surfer crashes in on September 19. The Nicolas Cage starrer unfolds a coastal showdown where a father’s quick surf with his teen spirals into a savage turf war with ‘locals only’ beach bullies. What starts as a humiliating shove-off becomes a stubborn stand-off in the baking Australian heat, until thirst, taunts, and reality itself begin to warp. As the heat blurs into a mirage and the tension rises like a rouge set, a once-polished man is pushed to the edge of obsession, catch *The Surfer exclusively on Lionsgate Play this September 19*.
Nicolas Cage leads the charge as the nameless interloper who refuses to yield, locking horns with a charismatic enforcer named Scally (Julian McMahon) and a pack of territorial wave-riders whose ‘locals only’ code curdles into ritualized torment under the punishing sun. As days blur and skin burns, the parking lot becomes a purgatory, riddles from a mysterious drifter, missing-person flyers, and surreal blackouts hint at loops of guilt and masculinity unraveling, while desperate survival beats (yes, even a rat) stoke a primal comeback no sunscreen can contain. Ride the descent, and the reckoning in The Surfer, a thrilling plunge into the edge between madness and revenge.
*Speaking about the thought behind the script of the film, writer Thomas Martin said,* _“The idea for THE SURFER came to me a few years ago when I saw two surfers getting into a vicious fight over the right to ride the waves on a beach near Sydney. It got me interested in ‘localism’ — extreme territorial behaviour, almost exclusively among males, which is rife in surfing communities around the World. I knew I wanted to write a film about it and about male violence — physical and psychological — and the toxic cycles of aggression that are passed down through generations and lurk just beneath the surface of even the most progressive societies.”_
*Talking about the film, Nic Cage said,* _“One of the reasons why I was drawn to The Surfer is because the narrative is so non-linear and enigmatic and dream logic and kind of psychedelic and surrealist. And it was full of surprises for me. And I like that. I think that's fresh in my book when you have something that is unusual storytelling. The whole movie took place in a parking lot and a beach. We didn't move locations. That was it. That was interesting. That was different. That was challenging.”_
*He further added,* _“And the character is going through such a series of degradations and humiliations that he starts the movie off one way and he becomes somebody entirely different. And I wanted it to feel both in performance and in storytelling a bit like a wild ride. Like, where is this going? And have it be surprising. And that's what it felt like when we were shooting. Granted, I was working with a great group of people, actors like Julian and Nick Kasem. And these are really immersed actors. And they're also really great people to be around. So that made it somewhat pleasurable. As horrific as what the character is going through and the situations are, I enjoyed working with these people.”_
