When you sit down to watch Apple TV Plus's new horror movie The Gorge this Valentine’s Day, you may find that it feels a lot like a video game adaptation. That’s because director Scott Derrickson says his new genre-bending movie is partly inspired by some of the most exciting video games.
"I love those games, and I do think that gaming has sort of set the bar for gunplay action, especially if you're really with a single character or two characters, you kind of can't beat it," says Derrickson to 12DOVE when we asked him if the movie emulating the aesthetic of games like Until Dawn and Silent Hill was intentional.
The Gorge follows two highly trained snipers (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) appointed to guard separate watchtowers overlooking a vast gorge. But when night falls, the shooters realize just what evil lurks beneath. Off the bat, the movie reminded us of shooter games like Overwatch, but when the secrets of the gorge below became apparent, the film sprung into action scenes reminiscent of dystopian games like The Last of Us or Silent Hill.
However, as much as he admires these games, Derrickson didn't want to create an all-action mission movie, so he decided to add a different element to give the film some heart: love. "I think that the challenge of the movie was not letting it fall into just the straight, chaotic stimulus of gaming-type action. The challenge was to have that kind of stimulus and power and really utilize that," explains the director, "But then to also really keep the romance alive."
Fans of The Black Phone and Sinister director may be surprised to see that The Gorge at its core is really a love story, that is, of course, mixed with the horror, action, and sci-fi genres. This makes The Gorge really one of the most original stories so far this year. At a time when the horror genre is being dominated by remakes, prequels, and sequels, Derrickson feels it is important that movies like this are made.
"I don't want to keep seeing the same movie getting made, you know, or versions of the same movies getting made," says Derrickson, who feels that making this movie for Apple TV Plus gave him more freedom to be different. "I think streaming is a place where you can really dare to be different because you don't have that box office pressure every on the opening weekend where people are going to decide whether or not your movie is a failure based on the box office return."
The movie is written by Zach Dean and also stars Sigourney Weaver. For more, see our interview with Weaver on admiring Taylor-Joy and hoping to see her in Avatar 3.
The Gorge premieres globally on Apple TV Plus on Friday, February 14, 2025. For more, check out our list of the best movies on Apple TV Plus, or keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.
