Mile Teller certainly scored points in Top Gun: Maverick but now with The Gorge he has really flown into the danger zone.
Valentines Day is certainly appropriate to release this hybrid of several genres including horror, sci-fi, action, and romance, the latter due to a clever “meet cute” angle between two sharp-shooting assasins hired to guard East and West towers separated by 600 meters, below them an imposing dense foggy forest that holds a dark secret.
No doubt it is a lonely job when Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver), the shady corporate operative who is one of the few who knows of the top kept secret of what the Gorge holds, recruits Levi (Teller), an ex-Marine and private contractor, a hit man talented with guns and weapons who Bartholomew decides is perfect for the year long assignment of making sure there is no escape from the mysterious gorge, a place of which even nine Russian heads, and 13 U.S. Presidents weren’t even aware. Levi is sent there with no knowledge, no ways of communication, including even where in the world he is being dropped literally. He is met by energetic J.D. (Sope Dirisu) who fills him in on what the job entails as J.D. is anxious to finally go back to civilization after his 365 day stint guarding the gorge from the tall West Tower. JD describes it as “the door to hell and we are the gate keepers”. Levi asks, “so are we supposed to keep people out?” JD replies, “no you are supposed to keep whatever is down there in”. As he explains the last guard is always the one who gives the lay of the land to the new guard and it has been carried on that way for decades. Once the chopper picks up J.D. however he discovers this was a one way trip.
Meanwhile Levi, a self-described “warrior poet” settles in, reads the cryptic messages on the walls from past occupants of the tower, browses the bookshelves, and feels the loneliness of this outpost until he spots a similar tower across the ravine and a young woman with a big gun and binoculars eyeing him. This is Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) who it turns out is an expert Russian assassin needing to hide out from her last hit. With approval from her ex-KGB father (William Houston in for a brief scene) she has taken up the East Tower with the same assignment as Levi and told never to have contact with the other side. In some ways it becomes an allegory for the Cold War between U.S. and Russia.
In no time each of them go into action when weirdly shaped bodies begin an attack which they manage to put down. It feels like an outdoor insane asylum. They continue to communicate holding up signs with queries about each other. It leads to a frequent flirtation as the months pass, even a Christmas celebration, when finally Levi creates a zip line and swings over to Drasa’s tower. Things turn physical, forbidden love blooms but is interrupted by another attack which causes Levi to fall all the way into the ravine below. Instinctively Drasa follows him down and now they are deep into uncharted territory with no way out but their wits.
The first half of The Gorge is nicely paced, keeping us guessing not just about Levi and Drasa and where this is all going, but also the otherworldly unknown forces they are guarding over. The second half is where the action and horror really ramp up as there may be no way out except death. The true secret of what this place is and who created it will be revealed in a clever way, but danger also intensifies when Bartholomew begins to have doubts about the loyalty of her hire.
With exceptional cinematography by Dan Lausten, rich and atmospheric production design by Rich Heindrichs, and a pulsating score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Director Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange, The Black Phone, Sinister) expertly exploits every angle of this intriguing original idea dreamed up by screenwriter Zach Dean (The Tomorrow War). Erik Nordby’s special effects team have clearly come to play as well but we will leave descriptions of the bulk of their work to your own discovery. It’s impressive.
In what is essentially a two-hander for the most part, Teller and Taylor-Joy are well matched and make this love story credible against all odds, both also proving to be action stars of the first rank. No doubt this film would have been a natural for theatres, even IMAX but, sadly for AMC, the Skydance production for Apple Original Films is headed straight to streaming. Crank up the volume on your tv sets, folks.
Producers are David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Sherryl Clark, C. Robert Cargill, Adam Kolbrenner, Gregory Goodman, Derrickson, and Dean.
Title: The Gorge
Distributor: Apple Original Films
Release Date: February 14, 2025 (Streaming Apple TV+)
Director: Scott Derrickson
Screenplay: Zach Dean
Cast: Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver, Sope Dirisu, William Houston
Rating: PG13
Running Time: 2 hours and 7 minutes
