The Reel Review
Two elite, highly trained snipers sent on a year-long mission to protect opposite sides of a mysterious, fog-enshrouded gorge learn they must work together to keep a horrific enemy at bay. Anya Taylor-Joy, Miles Teller and Sigourney Weaver star in this action/adventure mashup of sci-fi, horror and romance.
At its heart, The Gorge is a story about the importance of cooperation to achieve a common goal. As usual, Taylor-Joy is mesmerizing as the Lithuanian sharpshooter Drasa, just across the gorge from her American counterpart, Teller’s Levi. Their meet cute communication across the gorge initially consists of an apparently unlimited supply of poster-sized note paper and Sharpies, reminiscent of 2004’s Dawn of the Dead. Over the course of several months, they form an unconventional “long distance relationship,” which gets put to the test when the unthinkable happens and Levi ends up in the gorge.
After a broody and intriguing set up, director Scott Derrickson (The Black Phone, Sinister) dials up the action around the 30-minute mark, blending cute romance with intense horror, trippy visuals and plenty of action. The Gorge borrows a little too much in its second half from other iconic films, shows and video games (Resident Evil 4, Alien, Annihilation, The Last of Us, The Mist, The Bourne Identity) as its story starts to falter, but for such a knockoff, The Gorge at least looks genuine and is mindlessly entertaining as long as you ignore the glaring plot holes and ridiculous moments (a Jeep wench to climb the wall of the gorge, really?).
REEL FACTS
• In the montage scene the two play chess (a nod to Taylor-Joy’s breakout role in The Queen’s Gambit) and drums (referencing Teller’s breakout role in Whiplash).
• The bottom of the gorge and some of the creatures are heavily inspired by the work of Polish painter Zdzislaw Beksinski.
• Although set in a secret location, The Gorge was filmed in Norway, Wales, Scotland and England.
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