Nicolas Cage Is a Man on a Mission in New The Surfer Clip (Exclusive)

Nicolas Cage has rightfully earned the reputation of being one of the most fearless performers of his generation, happy to take on any project, no matter how unconventional or ambitious. His latest film, The Surfer, is no exception, as it takes what could be considered an innocuous premise for a movie and twists it into something more harrowing. In a new clip from the film, Cage is confronted by a local (Julian McMahon) who reminds him of everything he’s lost over the years, as his clinging to the past is misrepresenting his reality. You can check out an exclusive clip from The Surfer above before the film hits theaters on May 2nd.

The Surfer is described, “In the psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan, a man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.”

The film also stars Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand, and Justin Rosniak.

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The Surfer premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and earned promising reviews, as it currently sits at 88% positive reactions on Rotten Tomatoes.

Owen Gleiberman at Variety wrote of The Surfer, “The movie, while set on a muscle beach in Australia, isn’t about surfing. It’s about male anxiety, male power, male midlife crisis, male rituals of pain and dominance, and how much theater Nicolas Cage can wring out of all of that … It really is a midnight movie — the kind of trippy slapdash comic nightmare where the only way to watch it is to sit back and ‘go with it.’”

Over at Mashable, Shannon Connellan, detailed of the film, “Everything about The Surfer‘s one-line pitch sounds ridiculous (Nicolas Cage versus mean Australian surfers), but the film itself is a haunting set piece about localism, repressed memory, and toxic masculinity, boasting the wild ride we’ve come to associate with Cage. It’s as far from a wipeout as you can get.”

While it’s too early to tell if audiences at large will connect with the film, a majority of these early reactions tease The Surfer could become Cage’s next cult classic.

The Surfer hits theaters on May 2nd.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!