The Surfer

This action driven movie could of been better, but is letdown by it's weak story, a very much clichéd plot, involving videotapes, and bad guys in suits. I like Gary Day, so in that aspect, the film has an advantage, but that's not how I rate stuff. I did like the movie, on the account that I really like action adventures, plus there are some dangerous moments, but I don't think the story materialized full circle, as there could of been more meaty structure to it. Day's a PI, where his best friend (Gerard Maguire, an actor I like) is killed over these tapes. Love interest of the victim, Gosia Dobrolska, lands alongside Day, where the two are hunted by the baddies. One scene I loved involved bad guy Tony Barry making a call to a playboy, bad guy, Rod Mullinar, pushing his buttons, while devouring a pie. Check out another scene that has Day, pulling Dobrolska, towards him, kissing him, to avoid detection, as being chased. Dobrolska then slaps him, and they continue. The end was interesting, but the movie is just standard, straight to video fare.

The Surfer should have had a bigger audience when it was released than it did in the late eighties. There were a lot of low budget OZ films that were not anywhere near as good as this one, yet got major releases. Its obvious this low budget movie had a director on-board (Frank Shields)that really gets to the teeth of each scene and the acting is of a pretty good standard. The locations were also enticing and the story moved along OK. If you enjoy low budget Aussie films made in the 70's & 80's like I do, put this on your list.I would have liked to see more of the main characters back story as at times he seems to be searching for things that are not spelled out clearly enough in story, but his performance is strong and this compensates. The support players like Gerard Maguire also do a commendable job.