Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star as mercenaries in “The Gorge.” Laura Radford/Apple TV Plus via AP
Scott Derrickson’s latest film, The Gorge, aims to fuse romance with sci-fi action. However, the mix doesn’t always work. While the concept is unique, the execution feels uneven.
The story follows Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), two highly skilled mercenaries stationed on opposite sides of a massive, mysterious gorge. Their job? Keep watch and prevent anything from emerging from the abyss. These watchtowers have existed since World War II, and the mission details are known only to those at the top. The soldiers are chosen based on their marksmanship and serve for a year before rotating out.
Levi and Drasa are not meant to communicate, but their isolation leads to curiosity, then connection. What starts as occasional glances turns into a full-blown flirtation. They pass handwritten notes, play music, and exchange longing looks through binoculars. Levi even considers rigging a zip line between their towers. Their growing bond offers a break from their grim duty—eliminating anything that dares to rise from the depths of the gorge.
The premise is fresh, with an almost fable-like quality. There’s even dark humor in the way the duo connects over their violent pasts. They seem most attracted to each other’s ability to rack up body counts. A more daring film might have leaned into satire, but The Gorge takes a different route.
The film constantly reassures us that Levi and Drasa only kill “bad guys.” Levi wrestles with guilt and even writes poetry about his actions. Drasa, under the shadow of her father, longs for the innocence of her childhood. These backstories attempt to make them sympathetic, but the film doesn’t dig deep enough to add real complexity.
The true menace lies within the gorge itself. Levi’s predecessor hints that it could be a gateway to Hell. That mystery could have fueled a sense of existential dread, but the more the movie explains, the less terrifying it becomes.
Derrickson, known for horror hits like Sinister and The Black Phone, struggles to bring the same fear factor here. The CGI creatures lack weight, resembling designs borrowed from Alex Garland’s Annihilation—a film that handled eerie, mind-bending horror far better.
While Annihilation blended style and deeper meaning, The Gorge sci-fi thriller seems preoccupied with proving its intelligence. The film drops literary references, like calling the gorge’s creatures “the hollow men” in a nod to T.S. Eliot. Drasa is impressed. The audience? Less so. The film spells out its themes—war is brutal, authority is corrupt, and love conquers all—without offering anything new.
Teller and Taylor-Joy bring their natural charm, but the script keeps them boxed in. The film’s attempts at social commentary feel hollow, especially within such a glossy, commercialized production. The Gorge isn’t content with being a simple B-movie, yet its attempts to be profound fall flat.
