Given that The Gorge is directed by Scott Derrickson, who has helmed such horror pleasers as Sinister and The Black Phone, penned by an action familiar in Zach Dean (The Tomorrow War, Fast X), and is headlined by the reliable duo of Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller, one would feel safe sitting down to stream the sum of their collaborative parts, which has dropped on Apple TV+ to serve as counterprogramming for the Valentine’s crowd.
That being said, there are times when The Gorge doesn’t feel like counterprogramming for the romantic season, as across the film’s 127 minutes, it leans into an amorous mentality, with Taylor-Joy and Teller enjoying each other’s charm in an off-kilter setting that elsewhere flits between a military-themed actioner and an other-worldly horror film. It’s all a little bit of a jumble, really, with each individual component proving of interest, but not necessarily coming together as cohesively as we would like.
Mainly a one-two punch between Taylor-Joy and Teller – with Sigourney Weaver asserting her usual stern and fabulous self when required – The Gorge centres around Drasa (Taylor-Joy) and Levi (Teller), two lethal operatives tasked with guarding opposite sides of the titular locale. Separated by the foggy chasm, they are to live at their respective posts for a year, without contact from the outside world. Through their microscopes, the two start uniquely flirting. Love Actually-inspired note cards and flexing their own sniper skills leads to the two breaking protocol and meeting one another on Drasa’s side of the gorge. It’s all quite cute, and we completely understand both parties feeling some type of hormonal way for the other, but given their situation, their oft-calm, flirtatious nature never feels entirely organic.
Said situation would be the mysterious creatures that dwell within the gorge and try to climb out every night. Drasa and Levi have been assigned to assure that doesn’t happen, and whilst them obliterating these creatures with automatic weapons from their towers no doubt serves as a bonding experience, and the two meeting in person feels somewhat essential for where the film ends up travelling, the romance elements feels like it advances them too far as a couple for the sake of emotional outlay in the film’s back half.
With how skilled Drasa and Levi are supposedly meant to be, some of the decisions they make are more for the narrative beats to hit as conveniently as Dean’s script sees fit, and some of the mystery disappears from the sound atmosphere that Derrickson creates when the creatures in question are too visible, but, however messy it all proves to be, there’s still plenty of B-grade fun to be had with a film that has a certain bonkers Evil Dead-ness to it. Taylor-Joy and Teller are too good for this material, but if it wasn’t for their presence, The Gorge would hardly prove to be worth our time, so in Anya and Miles we trust.
The creature designs themselves and the world building present really deserve their own movie, and the tension and entertainment value on hand, especially in the film’s latter half, is undeniable, but there’s such structural issues and a clash of personalities that it always feel in threat of undoing itself. Ultimately, in the most complimentary manner, The Gorge is an early 2000s vehicle that manages momentum thanks to its overqualified cast, but a weak script keeps it from ever fusing its ingredients together coherently. It’s a breezy watch and the epitome of “popcorn entertainment”, but this really should’ve been so much more.
TWO AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Gorge is screening on Apple TV+ from February 14th, 2025.
