Official Movie Trailer, Plot Synopsis, Photos, and Film Clips From Lionsgate’s ‘The Surfer’
Plot Synopsis written by Michael Lee
*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Lionsgate
Photo Credit: Lionsgate
Official Trailer: ‘The Surfer’ (2025)
Plot Synopsis
Nicolas Cage in "The Surfer" • Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions
The ‘Surfer’ returns to his hometown to buy his old family home located near a pristine Australian beach. This beach is defended by a gang of bullies led by Scally, a pseudo-guru determined to protect the beach's sanctity from outsiders. The Surfer and his son, The Kid, are turned away by Scally and his beach guru goons so The Surfer takes The Kid home.
‘The Surfer’ Film Clip - ‘Coffee’ • Video Credit: Lionsgate/roadside Attractions
The Surfer is desperate to close on the house before Christmas and attempts to make several calls in order to secure the payment but is met with much resistance from the bank. Later, The Surfer meets The Bum, who’s home is in his defunct Volkswagen. The two watch Scally and his henchman through a pair of shared binoculars. As they look on, The Bum tells The Surfer that Scally murdered his son, as well as his dog.
Finn Little in "The Surfer" • Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions
The Surfer refuses to leave much to the chagrin of Scally and his goons. The locals end up vandalizing The Surfer’s car as well as stealing his surfboard, which results in physical confrontation. The police arrive at the scene the following day but are later revealed to be a part of Scally’ gang. They urge The Surfer to leave the beach, but he informs them that he is unable to do so because his Lexus’s battery is dead.
‘The Surfer’ Film Clip - ‘My Board’ • Video Credit: Lionsgate/roadside Attractions
Later that same day, a Photographer turns up and helps The Surfer jump his car. They eventually get the car to start and The Photographer takes a photo of The Surfer standing next to it. After she leaves, The Surfer’s phone dies and he does not have a charger. He is unable to eat or purchase anything as his cards are saved onto his phone. The Surfer also needs his phone in order to secure funding for his phone. He leaves his father’s watch with the cashier at the Food Hut in order to charge his phone and get a cup of coffee.
Julian McMahon and cast in "The Surfer” • Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions
The Surfer slowly begins to lose his sanity after a confrontation with the real estate agent who claims to not know who he is. When he returns to the Food Hut, he finds it closed, so he is unable to secure his phone or watch. Later, the ‘police’, aka Scally’s goons, advise him to leave the beach and move his car, which is somehow now the Bum’s Volskwagen and not his Lexus, which causes him to lose his grip on reality, as e begins to believe he had been The Bum the whole time.
‘The Surfer’ Film Clip - ‘You had a Family’ • Video Credit: Lionsgate/roadside Attractions
Defeated, he begins living in the Volkswagen, and begins to wear the shark tooth necklace, which The Bum told him belonged to his son, who won it in a surfing competition before he was killed by Scally.
ulian McMahon and Justin Rosniak in "The Surfer" • Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions
Now completely starved, The Surfer is a shell of his former self. But The Photographer returns and shows The Surfer the photo she took, which was him with his Lexsus, not the Volkswagen. Enraged, he returns to the beach, fights a number of Scully’s men and attempts to drown one of them, a goon named Pitbull. After the fight is finished, Scally tends to The Surfer’s wounds, explaining that the entire experience has been a test to ensure that he was worthy of buying the house. To ensure he can be trusted, Scally forces The Surfer to burn The Bum’s car.
Julian McMahon in "The Surfer” Julian McMahon in • Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions
Now able to surf freely, The Surfer, The Kid, and Scally arrive at the beach only to be greeted by The Bum, who has a gun. The Bum allows most of Scully’s goons to flee but insists that The Surfer, The Kid, and Scally stay, angry that they have become a part of the so-called local terror squad.
Lorcan Finnegan BTS of "The Surfer" • Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions
The Surfer offers up the shark tooth necklace to The Bum, which he accepts and allows him and The Kid to surf. As they paddle out into the ocean, The Bum murders Scally and then kills himself.
