On Valentine's Day, streaming service Apple TV+ prepared a great gift for its fans—a hurricane action thriller 'The Gorge', where the heroes of Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy deftly deal with monsters and each other's feelings.

Sniper Levi (Miles Teller), who failed a psychological test, is given a second chance and invited on a secret mission to protect a certain gorge. His tasks include routine checks of the terrain and automated military equipment, as well as monthly radio reports. On the other side of the gorge, there is a similar watchtower with its own keeper, but contact between them is strictly prohibited.

This representative of the 'eastern' side turns out to be a girl named Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy again with a hint of a Russian accent), an equally talented sniper. One fine evening, they decide to make contact because Drasa is celebrating her birthday. That same night, monsters begin to emerge from the gorge, and the keepers must join forces to protect the outside world from the creatures.

The film's director Scott Derrickson ('Sinister') admitted in interviews that he was inspired by video games like Until Dawn, The Last of Us, and so on. And this is very much felt. Both in a good sense and not so much. Many episodes of the film indeed resemble levels from video games—first come weaker enemies, then more complex, intense, and dynamic episodes, there is even a semblance of a boss fight in a confined space. Thanks to this, 'The Gorge' really works. At certain moments, you even get the feeling that it's either an adaptation or a new sequel to the Resident Evil series (especially since the premise of monsters appearing is largely similar). Only with more stylish visuals and an increased amount of sentiment, as the romantic relationship between Levi and Drasa is at the center of the narrative.

Why the film also resembles video games—the plot. Despite a well-conceived and largely original concept (although fans of, say, 'Dawn of the Dead' will immediately recall similar episodes with long-distance communication and monsters 'underfoot'), the story itself suffers from clichés and superficial solutions, like in not-so-well-written games. And it is this part that noticeably loses to the action part, where cheerful spider-skulls easily outperform the vague dances of Teller and Taylor-Joy's characters in appealing to viewer emotions. Speaking of clichés, it's even interesting how many eye-rolls the scene with Sigourney Weaver stepping out of a helicopter like a villain from 80s-90s action movies caused.

However, when the uninteresting dialogues give way to episodes where the main characters make their way through purple fog (pardon), and Scott Derrickson recalls his horror past, the film grabs your attention to the screen so tightly that it's impossible to look away. Add to that the pounding soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross mixed with classic rock hits, and you get a dose of adrenaline that Marvel blockbusters and other Hollywood conveyor belts haven't provided in a long time.

In the end, 'The Gorge' from Apple TV+ is a high-octane action thriller that entertains greatly, sometimes even tickles the nerves. And if you don't demand anything more from it, it will guaranteed give you a lot of emotions. If you look for some depth, it exists only in the title, but nothing more.

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