On February 14, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Apple TV+ premiered the sci-fi horror «The Gorge», starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy. In the review below, we will find out what kind of trouble the main characters of the film got into, how the local on-screen couple turned out. How interesting it is to watch all this within the framework of a bizarre video game set.
Pluses:
rapid development of events; interesting setting of the gorge; good acting duo; competent combination of romance, action and horror, great soundtrack; overall, a fascinating story;
Minuses:
The CGI inhabitants of the gorge look strange and someone will definitely not like their appearance; the final act is noticeably weaker than the previous ones; the predictable ending; the general unpretentiousness of the plot;
«The Gorge»
Genre science fiction horror movie, action movie
Director Scott Derrickson
Starring Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver, William Huston, Sope Dirisu
Premiere Apple TV+
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb
One day, Levi Kane, a tough American sniper, is approached by a secret organization in the person of a friendly woman who looks so confident that it’s not scary to go into space with her. The young man is thrown into an unknown country, somewhere in a wooded area with a huge gorge immersed in the mist. He arrives at a secret facility — a watchtower, where he is met by JD, whom Kane is supposed to replace for the next year. The soldier’s task is to prevent a breakthrough from the gorge, regardless of who or what tries to emerge from it.
At first, this mysterious mission seems to be the hero to be a complete absurdity, supported by fables that this is nothing but a gateway to hell. But there’s no turning back, so after JD’s quick departure, he takes over the watch. Boredom turns to curiosity when Levi notices the tower on the opposite side, or rather, the person who lives in it. Lithuanian mercenary Darsa has just dealt with a Belarusian oligarch and has also arrived in this strange place to serve. With the help of bizarre communication, which is strictly forbidden, the two lost souls get to know each other better, and Levi has an adventurous plan in his head. Which, in fact, leads to catastrophic consequences.
«The Gorge» — is probably the perfect Friday blockbuster for cozy home viewing; a great escapist entertainment that has its own obvious benefits; an unpretentious, and this will pass for a compliment here, moderately exciting multi-genre tall tale that you’re not ashamed of. I’d like to see more content like this from Netflix, a major player in the streaming field, but we have what we have.
Scott Derrickson — is a well-known master of horror. In his filmography, you can see representatives of the creepy genre, such as «The Exorcism of Emily Rose» (2005), «Sinister» (2012) and «The Black Phone» (2022) based on the story by Joe Gill, as well as big blockbusters like «The Day the Earth Stood Still» (2008) and «Doctor Strange» (2016).
Here, the director once again performed in his usual style. Probably, like his previous works, «The Gorge» can hardly claim the status of a genre classic that will forever be etched in the history of cinema. However, it is a movie at the moment, here and now, Derrickson’s films usually prove to be a solid genre product. And the current novelty is no exception, no matter how ridiculous the local plot may look at times.
The creators managed to harmoniously combine a sweet story about romantic passions with a vigorous sci-fi horror/action movie about wild savages in the spirit of «The Last of Us» (I also recall the character of Stellan Skarsgård in «Pirates of the Caribbean»). No wonder, the film resembles a pure adaptation of a video game.
In the most tense moments, the soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which matches the atmosphere, starts to hum. And when the location changes, the viewer will instantly feel the toxic atmosphere there thanks to the appropriate color filling of the frame.
All this action is packed into a gloomy and at the same time surprising setting, reminiscent of the Zone from «Annihilation» (2018) by Alex Garland, and at the same time a location hidden from prying eyes and limited in space, such as the «Hive» from «Resident Evil» (2002) or a scientific biolab on Mars from «Doom» (2005). The design of the area, by the way, looks great.
Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy also interact well in front of the camera, making a good team. They start their conversation with the Ramones’ «Blitzkrieg Bop», and in the same way as the gun shop owner Andy and the policeman Kenneth in «Dawn of the Dead» (2004) by Zack Snyder. Later, when the entertainment — chess and improvised drumming — starts, the attentive viewer will definitely notice pleasant references to the previous hits of both performers — «Whiplash» (2014) with Teller and «The Queen’s Gambit» (2020) with Taylor-Joy.
The climactic act is already noticeably inferior to the first, which is decently intriguing, and the second, where the whole plot actually unfolds. In addition to the fact that the final throws seem to be scrambled, the story suggests an obvious, highly predictable ending dictated by the romantic component. This slightly spoils the overall impression of the already fabulous plot, but does not critically affect the overall perception.
In general, it turned out to be a rather exciting, dynamic and fast-paced shooter that even in the far not a shameful adaptation of a computer game (read — a good sci-fi horror/action movie), and the power of love is sung. But the main thing is that all together it looks surprisingly harmonious and interesting, in particular as an evening’s leisure time in front of the screen in the arms of someone you care about.
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