20 Most Overlooked Movies Of 2025

Nicolas Cage may not be the box office force-of-nature that he was in the '90s, but even so, it's maddening how little attention his kaleidoscopic new psychological thriller The Surfer has received.

This Australia-set joint from Lorcan Finnegan (Vivarium) casts Cage as a man who finds himself bristling against the violent locals when trying to surf at a gorgeous beach.

It may sound like the setup for a pretty workaday thriller, but The Surfer is a decidedly weirder film than it first appears, Finnegan borrowing liberally and lovingly from the Ozploitation tradition per the film's hypnotic visuals, blistering heat, and central existential odyssey.

Cage is terrific as the unnamed protagonist - few actors can sell a descent into madness quite like him, and even so many decades into a career full of madcap turns, he still finds something unique to do.

And if this isn't enough, the film also offers up a remarkable final performance from the late Julian McMahon as the malevolent surf guru Scally.