This one is going to be short and sweet because it’s a pretty straightforward genre film, but since I mentioned it on my under the radar movie picks of February, I figured I should review it too. The Gorge is a movie that follows two elite snipers that are posted on either side of – you guessed it – a gorge filled with “hollow men” and they fall in love in their time posted at their respective watchtowers despite not being allowed to communicate. What interested me was mainly the cast and Scott Derrickson directing it. Here are my takeaways.
Point 1: Taylor Swift Window Sign Meme
Yes you know the one. That one. You’d be forgiven if the romance part of the movie reminded you of that because that’s basically what it is. Since they are so far apart and they can’t navigate around the gorge to see each other, they have to communicate with signs that they write on and then use binoculars to see what the other has written. Now, how do they time it right each time to hold up their sign long enough and then look at the right time? Listen, don’t ask questions. The logical fallacies in making this work will knock you out so just turn your brain off. There are countless instances of nonsensical occurrences of them being able to see stuff on the other side and not others.
All that said, the romance is pretty serviceable and both actors look great in their roles. Anya Taylor-Joy gets given another accent to do, which is fine I guess? They made a point of making her specifically not Russian, but Lithuanian. Honestly, I think they chose a niche country so that the average audience member won’t be able to critique the accent. Miles Teller basically sleepwalks through his role. Not that he’s bad, but there’s really not much muscle he needs to flex here. If you want to see two attractive people engaged in the most inoffensive romance you’ll see this year, you got it here.
Point 2: You Are Around 30 Years Old
This movie seems to be made squarely for the people who grew up with those popular YA novels. Much like my previous point, you know the ones. Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent, the list goes on. Now I’m not saying this movie is exactly in that genre. There is no large cast of teenage characters, there isn’t a dystopian society, there isn’t whatever other trope you’re thinking of. But the vibe is just so similar that it feels like it’s targeting the people that grew up with those and may still have an affinity for them but with a slightly more mature taste.
There’s a romance between two unlikely people. The romance is pretty innocent and sweet. Rather than being underdogs who have to prove themselves like in the YA novels, they have already proven themselves but find themselves in a tough spot. There is some government conspiracy-type mystery afoot. I know these all seem like unrelated sentences that I’ve chained together, but I’m trying to convey to you how this movie seems to have aged up the attraction to those YA novels to that audience that today is around 30 years old.
However, it still stays generic enough to appeal to anyone looking for a mindless, inoffensive romance/sci-fi/action movie. Now that I think about it, this could probably also work for a middle-aged dad who wants to watch a movie that will appeal to him (sci-fi/action) but wants to show that he’s trying for Valentine’s day by picking a romance movie. And would you look at the release date!
Point 3: This Is a Resident Evil Movie
So what are the hallmarks of Resident Evil? As someone who has played none of them, I feel like I’m really asking for it by giving my opinion on that but here goes nothing. To me, the hallmarks of Resident Evil games in general are the atmosphere, the slow burn pacing, the horror aspects, and the cheese. I think this film kinda hits all of those aspects at a decent clip while also fulfilling the criteria that the movies are kinda not great.
The gorge itself I felt had pretty effective atmospheric work, which I would expect from Derrickson who made the Sinister films. The pacing is pretty slow at first and then picks up in the latter third. The “hollow men” have a distinct monstrous design that feels pretty reminiscent of some Resident Evil zombies at times. And the cheese. Oh boy. One liners left and right. The most 90’s action or romance movie lines at times. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up low-key doing well with older audiences that don’t want to go into any of the genres too much but like a taste of it here and there.
And of course, just like any great Resident Evil plot, there is a shady organization doing shady things here. I won’t get into it in case you do want to watch this movie, but you put all of this together and as long as you don’t tell someone the title, you could probably convince them that it’s a Resident Evil film.
Point 4: Not the Sum of its Parts
On paper, when you say that you’re going to make a “romantic sci-fi action horror political spy thriller” (Scott Derrickson’s description) directed by someone who has made Doctor Strange and Sinister starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, that sounds pretty promising. So promising that someone might even be tempted to put it on their under the radar article for that month. And yet… It just never amounts to reaching something that could be achieved given those involved. The performances are passable, requiring nothing strenuous from the actors. The directing is fine but nothing particularly stands out. The creatures are honestly pretty uninspired and nothing to write home about. The action is fine. Every aspect of this movie is good, not great. Its 64% tomatometer score is pretty apt for what this movie is. Could it have done better in theaters? Maybe? But it feels pretty clear that this was always destined for streaming, for better or for worse.
Hoping Derrickson’s The Black Phone sequel delivers more than this did. But hey, I hope everyone got their paychecks and went their merry way after. Oh yeah! Sigourney Weaver is in this. I don’t know if that moves the needle for you.
In the end, I could see The Gorge being appreciated for the B-movie smorgasbord genre film that it is, but streaming is probably the best place for it. If you’re looking for something to watch with your boomer parents where no one will be offended and you’ll get a few snorts and everyone will find at least one part they appreciated, this is your next family movie pick! If you want to check out a good 2025 genre-mixing movie, you can check out Companion (revew here) tomorrow on streaming!
