Two elite snipers are hired to protect opposite sides of a mysterious gorge and together will find themselves battling the evil that lays within whilst trying to discover its secret. 

Levi (Miles Teller) is an ex-marine sniper. Jaded, tormented by nightmares and alone. Despite having been deemed unfit for duty by a military psychologist he finds himself being interviewed by the shady Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver) for a post that lasts precisely one year. Protect the gorge from your side and make no contact with your counterpart on the opposite side. 

Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a mercenary sniper for hire. We meet her as she enters her tenth day hiding in the perfect place to assassinate her latest target far away on a distant airfield. She leaves her secrets with her ex-KGB father Erikas (William Houston) who she meets at her mother’s grave after her mission. But she too will soon be alone as he tells her of his failing health. 

When Levi arrives at his post he is debriefed by the previous incumbent. J.D. (Sope Dirisu) explains how the gorge is hidden from the world by cloaking devices that send fake satellite signals to keep its existence a secret and that he believes it to be the entrance to hell. 

What follows is part love story and part horror movie. Despite the rules to not communicate with each other Drasa and Levi strike up a relationship by way of writing pads and binoculars. Slowly getting to know each other as they patrol in the day and relax at night. 

The “hollow men” below, named for a T. S. Eliot poem, try to scale the walls of the gorge from time to time and are fought back by Levi and Drasa. But their ghastly appearance and what their origin is provoke questions that must be answered by our protagonists. 

The Gorge is a film that falls into the good but not great category. My only real disappointment is that it has all the building blocks to be a cult classic and somehow manages to just be well made but unmemorable. 

The premise is intriguing. A gorge filled with monsters, hidden from the world and defended by solo elite soldiers on each side for decades. What lies within? 

The protagonists are genre tropes played incredibly well by good actors. Elite snipers with no worldly attachments battling with inner demons whilst they protect the world from real ones. The only real complaint is that Teller and Taylor-Joy lack the chemistry to really sell the love story which is integral to the plot. 

Visually it’s intriguing. From the stark wilderness and bare barracks above ground to the mysterious swirling mists and horrific abominations within the gorge. The “hollow men” and other terrors below in the mists are incredibly well realised and will invoke memories of many other horror movies. 

Aurally it also benefits greatly from a Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score. Masters of building dread and channeling damaged individuals emotions. 

The outcome is solid but does not set off any fireworks. A shame for a film that has the audacity to feature Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy falling in love whilst playing drums and chess.