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‘The Gorge’ Review: Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy Battle Distance and Mutants in Swoon-and-Scream-Worthy Thriller
Two lonely assassins who meet-cute while guarding opposite sides of a mysterious abyss must work together to defeat a top-secret evil lurking below.
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It’s an audacious feat to combine multiple genres into one compelling feature, but “The Gorge” does just that. The premise holds more than a modicum of clever intrigue, blending sci-fi, romance, horror and action-adventure in a slow-burning character study centered on two broken-spirited, sharp-shooting loners protecting the world from evil. Screenwriter Zach Dean creates a patchwork offering where the gimmicky hook of monsters lurking below draws us in, then develops into solid chills. Director Scott Derrickson and a cadre of craftsmen elevate the narrative’s basic level, delivering a fun thrill ride.
When we first meet Lithuanian mercenary Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) and American ex-Marine sniper Levi (Miles Teller), they’re each sorting through heavy issues. Levi’s plagued by PTSD-induced nightmares and feels trapped in a hellish limbo between the land of the living and his dead soul. Drasa’s been dealt a few major blows, not only learning that her latest kill shot exposed her identity, forcing her to go into hiding, but also that her terminally ill father (William Houston) plans to commit suicide in a few months’ time. These two are miles apart in their experiences, one killing for sport and the other for patriotic duty. But fate — and one shady government bedfellow — will soon bring them together.
Levi is called to Camp Pendleton for a meeting with the mysterious Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver), who enlists him to man a military outpost in an undisclosed wilderness location. Levi readily acclimates to his solitary station in the West Tower, a Brutalist cement structure well-stocked with books and ammo, overlooking a frightening, fog-blanketed gorge. The rules state he’s to keep the shrieking human-plant hybrid demons contained within from escaping and to never, ever contact the person across in the East Tower. However, a few months and flirtatious, binocular-aided glances later, Levi meets Drasa. As a love affair blossoms between the pair, a chaotic turn of events occurs, uncovering the sobering (yet entirely predictable) truth behind their mission, causing them to fight for their survival.
Popular on VarietyDespite their best efforts, the filmmakers have trouble fusing the shifting genres of romance, action, horror and conspiracy thriller, treating them as if they’re separate lands on a Candy Land-style game board that the characters are traversing. Sequences rarely pull double or triple duty servicing these different elements, so we feel every abrupt, practically-announced tonal shift. As a result, we lose a chunk of character-driven momentum. Plus, the characters spell out their internal and external conflicts, undermining audience intelligence and padding an already elongated run time.
Still, the highlights outweigh the lackluster elements. The first act spends a generous amount of time setting up the characters, providing tangible rooting interest and establishing the realities of Levi and Drasa’s insular worlds. Through the aesthetics of her wardrobe, hair and lighting, Bartholomew’s introduction lays subtle groundwork for distrust reflecting the shadowy gray territory she commands. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pristine, industrial synth-forward score adds a fittingly dissonant soundscape with melodies that blossom once the pair’s relationship takes shape. Sope Dirisu, whose brief appearance as the soldier Levi relieves from his post, sells the sincerity behind his expository dialogue, explaining the facility’s inner workings and the backstory of the underworld.
Later sequences, where Levi and Drasa invariably find themselves exploring the floor of the titular location, lift designs from Ents (as seen in “The Lord of the Rings”), the mutants from “The Last of Us” and the “Aliens” queen’s lair, although the film remixes these influences in a refreshing manner. Practical and visual effects for the gorge’s creepy crawlies amp up the gross-out factor, from the giant bloodthirsty caterpillar hanging out on the gnarly Venus Flytrap tree to the skull-backed spiders in the decomposing church. Cinematographer Dan Laustsen’s saturated color scheme of sulfuric yellow, deep purples and reds channels atmospheric moods in the foggy void. Horseback pursuits and surprise tactical attacks by the zombie-fied demons hold grotesquely appealing splendor.
Levi and Drasa’s interactions from afar, exchanging messages on notepads and dry-erase boards, playing drums (as if to remind that Teller was in “Whiplash”) and chess (a wink to Taylor-Joy’s role in “The Queen’s Gambit”) are charming moments. Yet it’s their first date sequence where everything pops: The thumping beats and duet in the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” echo their burning desires, manifested in a waltz-like dance. Teller and Taylor’s chemistry sparks to life, bringing their characters’ intertwined yearning to the forefront as the cyan-tinted moonlight sets the backdrop for the candlelit warmth to delicately dot the frame. Camera movements seduce alongside the choreography, utilizing canted angles to connote the couple’s changed worlds, ending in a gorgeous dissolve that blurs the imagery of the two bodies into one.
Though it often falls back on a generic, predictable outline, the film excels when it shows it’s inventive enough to deliver the unexpected. Derrickson and company demonstrate ingenuity within this high-concept mashup, resulting in one of the streamer’s livelier selections.
