⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Director and Writer (Platform): Scott Derrickson and Zach Dean (Apple TV)
Publisher (Release): Apple TV (2025)
Length: 2 hours and 7 minutes
Genres: Romance; Action; Mystery; Sci-Fi; Horror
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
strong violence and body horror
this review contains low-level spoilers
recomendation: vibe check before watching
👍 Pros 👍
Mysterious and ominious premise
Investable meet-cute with solid performances to sell the romance
Competent action
👎 Cons 👎
Devolves into a predictable creature feature
Its lack of focus causes its mesh of genres to clash and tumble
Stumbles toward its predictable and lacklustre finale
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
Two highly trained operatives grow close from a distance after being sent to guard opposite sides of a mysterious gorge. When an evil below emerges, they must work together to survive what lies within.
🧩 Plots 🧩
Riveting
Engaging
Enjoyable
Uneven
Boring
🎭 Characters 🎭
Alive
Developed
Okay
Inconsistent
Soulless
💪 Action 💪
Frenetic
Punchy
Swings
Misses
ZZZ
💭 Final Thoughts 💭
They knew what they were doing with shirtless and wet Miles Teller in that trailer…
The Gorge kicks off with a premise and tone that could’ve been pulled from a Stephen King novel, wrapping a magnanimous mystery in sinister intrigue. From there, we’re treated to a surprisingly engaging meet-cute between Teller’s Levi and Anya Taylor-Joy’s Drasa, creating a clash of genres that, initially, is slick, mixing a heat into its creepy chills.
After a burst of action and CGI creature feature that I can only describe as The Thing meets The Last of Us, The Gorge kinda tumbles towards its conclusion. Its confident, ominous opening and the Taylor Swift song romance can’t quite hide how aimless it is in its second half. This uncertainty sends its tower of contrasting genres tumbling into tonal and thematic chaos. Action is well-paced enough to keep the viewer’s attention and solid performances from its protagonists allow some development to take hold, but, at over 2 hours, everything wears thin by the end.
Still, there was potential to take this film a surprising way, to inject some kind of spice the latter half desperately needed to combat its predicatable and well-travelled science fiction tropes. Sadly, that doesn’t happen, and the wealth of genres ultimately sinks The Gorge’s ship with its inability to commit.
The Phoenix Project 