The Surfer

What’s it about?

A man returns to the neighbourhood he grew up in to buy a house and surf with his son. When he finds himself humiliated by a group of local surfers, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps boiling and pushes him to his breaking point.

The facts

• Directed by Lorcan Finnegan
• Starring Nicolas Cage, Finn Little, and Rahel Romahn
• English and French languages
• Runtime: 100 minutes

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Violence and cruelty

The film contains violent scenes such as fistfights, pushing, and shoving, alongside consistent acts of cruelty, including psychological torment, gaslighting, and intense physical and emotional bullying.

The stronger moments of violence and cruelty include:

• From a distance, a character is shown shooting another character in the head with blood spray shown as the bullet hits.
• A character holds a line of people at gunpoint threatening to kill them, making them do degrading things such as barking like dogs.
• In one scene, a character holds another character’s head underwater attempting to drown him, until he is stopped.
• The cruel treatment of a homeless man and the main character such as tying a dog to the drinking fountain so water isn't accessible.

There is a brief reference to domestic violence when a character claims that a group of men bullying people at the beach keeps them from committing domestic violence at home.

Horror

There are disturbing psychological horror themes as the main character becomes increasingly delirious due to dehydration, overheating, and local people gaslighting him into believing he is a crazy and homeless man.

Certain scenes depict unsettling cult-like behaviour from a group of men, involving chanting and branding with hot irons.

This is all shown through disorientating montages with swirling colours and eerie sounds.

Suicide

There is one suicide scene where a man is shown shooting himself in the head, causing blood to spray out.

A historic death is implied to have occurred by suicide, however a character disputes this. When they discuss it, brief clips are shown of a man’s arm, leg, and body on the ground, with no visible injury.

Sexual references

There are crude but undetailed sexual references, such as a character saying another mother wanted “anal,” and a character talking about women wanting men to “f**k ‘em like a beast.”

An older man is seen taking a younger woman into his beach shack. Other characters make references to the older man “playing with fire,” but there are no other indications that she is underage. The next morning, the relationship appears to be consensual.

Drug use

One character is unwillingly injected by another with a drug that leads them to have a psychedelic experience.

The rest of the depictions of drug use involve the surfer gang smoking what is implied to be marijuana, through a large pipe, and are shown having a good time with it.

Helplines:

Themes such as suicide could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen, please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development – how it works, why it matters