The Gorge is a mixed-genre, bag of fun as long as viewers don’t look too deep
by Nav Qateel
Released on Apple TV and directed by Scott Derrickson, The Gorge is a mishmash of a movie that certainly had a few identity problems, but heck did I thoroughly enjoy the experience. It attempted to be almost every genre of film imaginable, and for confirmation take a look at The Gorge IMDb page as it lists eight genres for the streamer no less, however there was enough silly charm on display that I was easily able to overlook this and simply be entertained.
Derrickson has helmed many movies that I have given high scores to, and after seeing The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) I suspected we would see good things come from the director and that we certainly have. In fact I can’t think of any of his projects that haven’t been successful, from the creepy Sinister to Doctor Strange to The Black Phone, I have enjoyed all of his work.
The Gorge tells the story of a mysteries gorge at some unknown location that must be defended by two individuals, one on either side. It is quickly established that it has been like this since WW2 where the US/UK would defend one side while Russia would do likewise on the other. The gorge is also covered in a thick mist blocking anyone from seeing exactly what’s below, although there are occasional sounds that warn of something scary.
To prevent detection from satellites or aerial flyovers, the length of the valley has devices blocking the skies adding to the mystery of why the place even exists. On the side of the West is Levi (Miles Teller), a former soldier now military contractor who’s been tasked with a one year assignment to keep an eye on things and perform general maintenance on the tiny base. This involves things like keeping massive auto turrets working or large dangling bombs serviced. Strictly no contact is allowed to the outside world, and especially to their counterpart across the gorge, but once a month a radio check is established to make any necessary reports.
On the other side performing almost identical tasks is Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), however Drasa has a backstory that’s interesting and fleshes out the character just enough to give a bit of depth. Of course we can’t have two attractive characters not getting it on, and after finding a way to communicate with one another Levi fixes an extremely long steel cable to either side and makes his way over to Drasa. They have a brief few days where they enjoy each other’s company allowing the film to earn its romance tag, but an accident causes Levi to plunge into the gorge, so Drasa follows right behind armed to the teeth, and now we get down to some action horror.
A film of this nature, while being an absolute blast, didn’t particularly need two heavy hitters in the joint lead roles, as it felt like they were punching downwards, yet it certainly helped elevate the film. This speaks to the strength of Scott Derrickson having Teller and Taylor-Joy sign on to a movie like this as they can probably pick and choose from choice scripts. Sigourney Weaver plays a more minor role but a very consequential one, as the baddie of the movie.
My takeaway from The Gorge is that there’s enough assortment to please most people, especially if you lean towards action, but the romance such as it is, should also please many as it pays off quite well eventually. There are glaring plot holes that quickly become apparent once the action begins, but they never took me out of the moment. Hopefully you will be as forgiving as I.
Nav’s Grade: B
