THE GORGE (2025)

Two highly trained operatives grow close from a distance after being sent to guard opposite sides of a mysterious gorge.

by Evan Sharp 17th February 202517th February 2025 Leave a reply

The Gorge opens with Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) waking up to a seemingly mundane day. She brushes her teeth and marks off days on a calendar. As an aeroplane soars over the jungle where she sleeps, a man disembarks. A shot is immediately fired. He drops to the ground, felled by a bullet from her rifle. Mission complete.

We cut to Levi (Miles Teller) gasping for air as he wakes from a nightmare. A slow, haunting piano plays in the background, setting the tone for a tense, ominous journey into the nature of mercenary killing. Levi is grappling with his past after retirement. When he’s called into a meeting with Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver), who wants to hire him for his sniping skills, he’s confronted. He seems to quell his past by living a solitary life, writing poetry and drinking himself to sleep. But his nightmares endure.

“Have you tried Nitrazepam or Prazosin?” asks Bartholomew. “Have you ever killed someone at long range?” he replies. “Pills affect my accuracy.”

He might just be the perfect person for the job. He gets stationed at the West tower in an unknown jungle, overlooking a giant gorge where mist hangs ominously in between. His predecessor, Jasper Drake (Sope Dirisu), briefs him on the area and his duties. The East Tower lies on the other side, where Soviet forces are stationed. Communication between the two is prohibited.

“What’s the mission?” Levi asks JD. “I need to keep people from going in the gorge?” “No,” he replies. “You need to stop what’s in the gorge from coming out.”

We learn that the entities that try to climb out of the mist are called ‘The Hollow Men,’ their moniker taken from a T.S Eliot poem. JD summarises the job they’ve been given: “The Gorge is a door to hell and we’re standing guard at the gate.”

While Drasa is laser-focused and capable of killing people without blinking, Levi struggles to leave the past behind him, especially when the urge to act on it is still there. It must pay well to be the best. The dichotomy here is useful, as it sets them up to meet at a pivotal point in the narrative from two ends of the spectrum. Like two cars travelling dual roads along the same tuning fork. But placing two young assassins within viewing distance of each other is bound to break the decades-long rule of no communication. Soon, likely out of boredom or perhaps just because it’s her birthday, Drasa takes her gun and fires a shot into the air, hoping to get Levi’s attention.

What follows is a series of back-and-forth exchanges suited to romcom territory, especially the kind that deals in coming-of-age or teen romance. The two skilled snipers pass the time with a friendly shooting competition from opposite sides of the gorge. But as the fun fades, Drasa signals to Levi that something—or someone—is climbing up the rock wall on his side of the gorge. The following scene is excellently captured, as each protagonist defends the other’s side of the gorge by shooting high-powered weapons at their common enemy.

Some may find the pacing slow at first, but this works in the film’s favour. It creates a suitable tension that resonates—at least in the first half of the film. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is hauntingly sparse, filled with moody pianos that help the viewer enter the calm headspace of professional killers. Occasionally, it’s interrupted by rock music.

Together, these elements aim to avoid leaning into sentimentality, however it struggles whenever Drasa and Levi share romantic scenes together. Although not explicit, their interactions often fall into corniness. Montages undercut the emotional depth needed to secure our investment in their relationship. Then again, the film was globally released on Valentine’s Day, and some may find this useful for a simple relationship between a man and woman exiled in nature.

When the film refocuses on the gorge and ‘The Hollow Men,’ the action rebuilds solidly as the seasons pass. As the film progresses, however, and the mystery of the gorge is gradually revealed, some may take issue with the execution and presentation. Just over an hour in, the second half of the film feels somewhat disconnected from what came before.

Director Scott Derrickson—whose films include The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), Sinister (2012), and Doctor Strange (2016)—doesn’t find the right genre recipe. Instead, he meddles with several, remaining largely undecided throughout. This leaves a jarring shift in the film’s tone.

What was initially built up as a dark thriller is undercut by presenting the rest of the film as an action-romance seemingly aimed at teens. The silent, evil antagonists who dwell within the gorge are gratuitously shot using CGI, which gives the feel of a Resident Evil-style video game adaptation. This isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world but merely presents an inconsistency some will find surprising at the least. It’s far removed from the eerie ambiguity sustained in Alex Garland’s Lovecraftian sci-fi horror Annihilation (2018), or the gradually unfolding mystery in the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist (2007). However, it does offer its own reading on similar lines, using action sequences sparingly that keep us engaged.

When you have a story about two characters who fall in love while safeguarding state secrets, you must acquire the best actors for the job. Anya Taylor-Joy (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) presents the Lithuanian sniper Drasa as a free spirit. She dances and falls too easily in love with her neighbour, providing a female character who’s capable of doing just about everything correctly. She would rather work alongside her partner than moodily run the show herself. Taylor-Joy hits each of her marks with as much conviction as her character allows.

However, Miles Teller’s Levi seems detached and stoical, too easily dissuaded from looking deeply into the mystery that lies in the gorge. This may suit his character, but without an engaging backstory about the origin of his nightmares, one can find him distanced from the story. Although, the question remains: can we fault him for trying to win Drasa’s love by writing her poetry and sailing across the gorge on a zip wire to go on a date with her? Mostly, it’s up to the viewer.

From a narratological perspective, Zach Dean’s screenplay focuses more on Levi’s limited perspective instead of balancing both our snipers’ viewpoints. This seems misleading given that the film’s early scenes were focused on contrasting their approaches to killing—Drasa’s indifference versus Levi’s struggle with his past. This imbalance limits the development of both characters, and some viewers may notice a lack of significant conflict or tension arising during their romance. Right away they appear to be the perfect couple, playing cheeky love games in lieu of interpersonal disputes. Again, the film leaves this to the viewer to decide: Can a perfect romance emerge out of duty and isolation? Or is a love like that even possible?

Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Bartholomew, a savvy businesswoman who knows more than she’s telling, is a welcome presence. However, she appears in only a few scenes. Given her limited character, an actress of her calibre is still able to inject a sense of authority into an otherwise ambiguous character. What Bartholomew knows about the gorge is central to our understanding of the core messages the film attempts to present. However, we don’t get many confrontations between her and Levi to delve into these depths. And Drasa’s superiors aren’t even shown or mentioned.

Still, most of it works to entertain, keeping eyes on the screen until the end. As a film release for Valentine’s Day, The Gorge may work to warm your sensibilities towards a perfect romance that overcomes instructions from tyrannical leaders. And it succeeds as an action where true teamwork prevails over ambiguous enemies. There’s still a certain charm and even merit to that. However, if you’re looking for a film that stays on the tracks of sci-fi horror or thriller tinged with dark romance, it may not be what you expect—at least during the film’s second half.