From director Scott Derrickson, best known for Marvel’s Doctor Strange and the fan-favorite horror films Sinister and The Black Phone, comes Apple TV+’s new genre-bending, sci-fi horror romance, The Gorge. Written by Zach Dean (Fast X, The Tomorrow War), The Gorge follows a pair of elite longe-range snipers (played by Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) who are tasked with guarding a deep, ultra-classified gorge. Though Teller’s Levi Kane and Taylor-Joy’s Drasa are posted on opposite ends of the gorge, separated by orders from the United States and Russia, respectively, they fall in love. The duo soon discovers the monstrous secrets within the gorge, which both of their governments have attempted to keep hidden for a very long time.
Despite its eclectic mishmash of genres — specifically horror, science fiction, and romance — The Gorge remains painfully painted by numbers. Nothing particularly shocks or surprises the viewer, and each beat is hit at the expected pace. Yet, the movie still seems to drag. It relies far too much on the inherent tension of its high-concept premise, while the unfolding plot does a poor job of inspiring the audience to care. Also, despite directly referencing historical political conflicts, it wrestles to remain apolitical and, in doing so, becomes defanged.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Even popcorn films need themes, but The Gorge does not offer much. Without any overarching ideas enticing the audience to stay invested, the burden falls onto the shoulders of its protagonists. Every lick of exposition is only as weighty as the context that surrounds it and must work in tandem with each actor’s performance to create a character worth caring for. The Gorge‘s screenplay lacks such meaningful context, and the two leading performances suffer an imbalance of charisma because of it.
Scott Derrickson’s The Gorge is defined by an incredibly insular premise and, thus, relies heavily on the star power of its two leads. Anya Taylor-Joy (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Menu) manages to thicken the thin writing of her character with a healthy dose of charm. Miles Teller, less so. This is not the first time he’s been cast as an action protagonist, like in Top Gun: Maverick, the Divergent trilogy, and even 2015’s Fantastic Four; though the archetype takes a different form every time, The Gorge is another lackluster attempt to add to the list.
The script attempts to give Levi Kane, a haunted ex-Marine with a fondness for poetry, some multidimensionality, but Miles Teller’s performance falls flat. Conversely, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Drasa teeters on the edge of the manic pixie girl archetype. While she has a comparable number of kills under her belt, she manages to stay light on her feet because she’s had a confidant to offload the trauma onto, something for Levi to aspire to. Levi’s backstory is entangled in the film’s plot, whereas Drasa’s only affects her. Still, Taylor-Joy infuses her performance with as much nuance as possible, one of the movie’s few saving graces. Also, veteran actress Sigourney Weaver is wasted as she’s not given enough material to have an impact.
Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross wrote the score for The Gorge, but it similarly lacks a presence. Coming off the heels of their electric, award-winning score for Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, it’s rather disappointing how forgettable The Gorge’s music is. The score services the film appropriately. However, in doing so, it blends in with its overall mundanity.
There is a significant portion of The Gorge where director Scott Derrickson leans hard into horror. These scenes feel like Alex Garland’s Annihilation if it was a Bioshock-esque video game as it oscillates between framing its world as something to shoot at and exposition checkpoints. Admittedly, the world itself is visually distinct enough and does prompt the viewer to aptly cringe at the horrors on-screen. The action scenes clip by at a brisk pace, a disservice to developing the characters but a gift to the audience.
The third act especially falls flat. As an action setpiece, it’s highly derivative and entirely predictable. Regarding its use of romance, it’s evident that the movie is far more concerned with performing the beats of a love story than actually having anything to say about love at all. Levi and Drasa’s relationship is sometimes cute, but it never extends past charming or earning any big romantic moment.
The Gorge has the vibes of a movie designed for cable TV. It is the exact kind of horror film one would expect to see slated during a Saturday 4:00 PM timeslot while lazily channel surfing. Then, you might decide to keep it on because it’s a little exciting, has a pair of recognizable actors, and is not totally humorless. Unfortunately, that is a phenomenon of a bygone era, and The Gorge can only be streamed on Apple TV+. It’s difficult to imagine anyone scrolling through the streamer’s available titles and willingly putting The Gorge on when there are much better options available, much less logging onto Apple TV+ just to see it.
The Gorge is now streaming on Apple TV+!
Release Date: February 14, 2025.
Directed by Scott Derrickson.
Written by Zach Dean.
Produced by Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Sherryl Clark, Zach Dean, Adam Kolbrenner, & Greg Goodman.
Executive Producers: Miles Teller & Marc Evans
Main Cast: Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver, Sope Dirisu, William Houston, & James Marlowe.
Cinematographer: Dan Laustsen.
Composers: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross.
Production Companies: Apple Studios, Skydance Media, Lit Entertainment Group, & Crooked Highway.
Distributor: Apple TV+.
Runtime: 127 minutes.
Rated PG-13.
