What do T.S. Eliot, Annihilation, and romantic undead tales have in common? Scott Derrickson’s The Gorge. A threatening brand of military meet-cute makes for any genre fan’s Valentine’s Day treat—more love stories should have feral creatures and desperate stakes. Derrickson’s vision for Zach Dean’s multifaceted screenplay brings supernatural desolation and warm smiles in equal scoops, although the two-hour-plus duration is challenging. It’s a film with lofty ambitions meant to excite, scare, and woo that succeeds across the board, but a balancing act that honors all intentions can feel wobbly.
Overlooking a mist-cloaked gorge are two concrete outposts—one Eastern, one Western—with only a single patrol personnel assigned for one-year rotations. Ex-Marine private contractor Levi (Miles Teller) and a Lithuanian sniper working for Russia named Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) are the latest crew, taking their respective duties in opposite towers. The catch? They don’t know each other exists, nor are they allowed to communicate. Whatever they’re containing in “The Gorge” is top secret and requires the utmost attention, but Drasa and Levi let boredom become a distraction, and the two strike a relationship via combat-grade binoculars.
A common issue in hybrid romance films is a lack of established attraction. The Gorge is built differently, thanks to Teller and Taylor-Joy. Their goo-goo-eyed mercenaries melt away tactical coldness despite football fields of separation, flirting via crack shots and Love Actually written cards. It’s all sneakily adorable, especially as Taylor-Joy coaxes Levi out of his calloused shell. A Christmas montage with snowmen set to Twisted Sister or goofball drum solos using pots and pans make for unexpectedly sweet rom-com highs, with Taylor-Joy standing out as this charming angel of death who glows when she’s smitten. We must believe their adoration for the ensuing struggle to mean anything … and we do.
Derrickson’s horror background and Marvel strangeness help define The Gorge’s nether realm. Automated sentry guns, spiked fences, and dangling mines tell us something terrible lurks below thick fog, which Levi and Drasa eventually face. Ghost stories passed down by American guards refer to the ghouls below as “Hollow Men,” referencing T.S. Eliot’s haunting poem. There’s also an Annihilation feel to the environment Levi and Drasa enter, where ecosystems absorb human traits like skull spiders or skeleton trees soaked in dusty yellows and purples (Mad Max: Fury Road vibes). It’s a forgotten land filled with eerie designs that are Ent-like, parasitic, mutant, and plenty of other visual icks. Scenery resembles a biowarfare wasteland or the Gates of Hell, vividly selling horrors that no government wants topside.
The film’s hurdle, and what will divide audiences, is the length it takes to reach action-horror elements. Sigourney Weaver delivers an ominous introduction when her classified character hires Levi, Sope Dirisu welcomes Levi to his new bunker home in passing, then there’s Levi and Drasa’s bonding cuteness — all before we gorge on the gorge’s terrors. By the time Levi and Drasa must strategize and blast their way to safety, it’s been a while ... yet there’s still so much movie left. Levi and Drasa’s start-to-finish journey sags in the middle like a slack grappling hook cable, causing whichever act you favor least to overstay its welcome.
The Gorge also feels exposition-heavy in odd ways, like the multiple reiterations that Levi and Drasa are expert sharpshooters. Or the mysticism of the gorge’s inhabitants before full-on confrontations. Derrickson achieves tonal harmony between bullet-riddled action and wholesome relationship connections, but there’s so damn much to swallow. Including conspiracy elements, preambles, and epilogues adds bulk to a story that needs less. That’s the frustrating part — there’s nothing atrocious about The Gorge. It’s just an overindulgence that doesn’t benefit simpler themes at play.
Even so, Scott Derrickson oversees a winning date night option for those bored by suburban Lifetime romances. Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy have cupid on their side, striking an organic chemistry that lures us in like a tractor beam. All the gnarly creature effects, explosions, and fully loaded action are a bonus. The Gorge could use another edit pass and tightened storytelling, but that doesn’t torpedo what exists. It’s a welcome type of “preposterous” that sucks viewers into its universe and takes us for a wild ride, hiccups and all.
Movie Score: 3.5/5
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.
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