‘The Gorge’ Review – Nothing But An Empty Chasm

It’s all a matter of time. Honestly, this can describe a great many films. If you are well-read, or well-watched, there are well laid tracks in front of you. The movie that switches things up and is surprising is a rare thing, indeed. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A movie can be unsurprising and still be good. Think of Chekhov’s gun. Although it is in actuality a narrative principle stating that all plot elements introduced by the writer, no matter how insignificant, must play a role in the end; it has come to represent an interaction we know is coming. So, again, it is a matter of time until that element comes into play. The how becomes much more important than the what. The Gorge has many of these elements, but sadly, it only becomes engaging after the gun goes off halfway through the film.

The Gorge follows troubled ex-Marine Levi (Miles Teller) who has essentially been hired by the government to keep watch over one side of said gorge for one year. He is troubled by memories of his first kill and still has nightmares. When he arrives, his predecessor gives him the lay of the land and an interminable amount of exposition. Included in this is the “Hollow Men” that live in the fog-covered hole he is watching over. To up the drama, they refer to what is under there as if Hell’s gates opened up. Again, it’s all a matter of time before they appear.

On the other side is Lithuanian sharpshooter Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy). Her backstory is simpler but more effective. Her father is dying of cancer and has planned to kill himself while she is on her own year-long mission. Taylor-Joy is a gifted actress and has a seemingly innate ability to play both mysterious and emotional at a moment’s notice. She certainly elevates the material here, which is otherwise rather shallow.

What follows is a strange mix of genres. Screenwriter Zach Dean attempts to mash up romantic comedy and action and the result is a mixed bag. There are moments, leaning heavily on Taylor-Joy, that work and are mildly endearing. The problem here is Teller, who is given a difficult task. It is certainly a challenge to play a haunted (he even writes poetry!), standoffish soldier, and also play a charming romantic lead. He seems torn between the two at all times. Additionally, because of where the plot takes this pairing, the romance feels both too brief and too slow. Their communication, mostly via written cards a la Love Actually is nice enough, but wears thin. There are sporadic moments of action with brief appearances from the creatures from below, almost as if director Scott Derrickson is aware of the plodding romantic pace. 

But again, it’s all a matter of time. You don’t have a gorge without going inside it. You don’t have “creatures from Hell” without fighting them. It all does come to fruition, but because of the mashup of genres, it feels less than awe-inspiring. The hope is that we are rooting for this love, this passion that the two leads carry, but it never feels genuine. Yes, they are two attractive people being hot at one another, but that isn’t enough. And you would hope that the action is enough. Sadly, this falls short as well. It is not awful by any stretch, but they do seem to be amalgamations of creatures we have seen before. 

As the movie stretches on well past its welcome, we have, you guessed it, more exposition. And this is where the realization sets in. This movie uses video game logic, all the way down to messages from the past made to explain the plot mechanics of the creatures being dealt with. Now, don’t get me wrong, this would be a lot of fun to play, but simply to watch?  It is merely enough to be mildly entertaining fare. 

For a movie like this to excel, the creators have to thread a very specific needle. The romance has to spark. The monsters have to be terrifying. The mystery needs to be fully engaging. Unfortunately, The Gorge is halfway there in all three facets. Moments of the romance are exciting. The monsters are better in shadow than we see them fully realized. The mystery is better kept hidden than revealed. It was only a matter of time before The Gorge gets to where it is going but the journey to get there is tedious and obvious.

The Gorge is currently available to stream on Apple TV+.