The Gorge is a new kind of Valentine’s Day movie from renowned horror director Scott Derrickson. The Apple TV+ film stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller as two snipers separated by a deep and wide gorge that contains a mysterious but great evil that they are tasked with keeping contained. In a genre-bending twist, this dynamic also paves the way for a romance to develop between the two characters.

The unique premise of the movie marks a change in pace for Derrickson, who is widely appreciated as a skilled horror director. Derrickson is the director behind Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and The Black Phone, although he did take a detour in 2016 to helm Doctor Strange for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (no word on if he’ll return for Doctor Strange 3). While The Gorge certainly pulls from Derrickson’s horror background, the love story at the heart of the movie is unlike other projects the director has taken on in the past.

ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier spoke with Derrickson about how his own love story fueled his collaboration with Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller and led to the creation of The Gorge. The director shared how the unique circumstances shared by Levi (Teller) and Drasa (Taylor-Joy) lead to the blossoming of a relationship, and discussed what the actors brought to their roles. Plus, Derrickson gave an update on the story and status of The Black Phone 2.

“I Couldn’t Have Made A Romantic Movie At A Different Time In My Life”

Derrickson Reveals How Falling In Love Led To Falling For Zach Dean’s Script

Derrickson began his conversation with ScreenRant by praising the uniqueness of screenwriter Zach Dean’s script for The Gorge: “It was a genre-bending romantic movie. I’d never seen that before.” But reading something original and wanting to invest months into making it are very different prospects, and ultimately it was Derrickson’s own experience that led to his interest in making the film. “I couldn’t have made a romantic movie at a different time in my life. It was just at this time of my life. I recently fell in love, got remarried, and it’s one of the reasons that the script spoke to me the way that it did,” the filmmaker said.

What’s novel about The Gorge is that the relationship between Drasa and Levi develops initially through the lenses of binoculars. Derrickson wouldn’t have had it any other way, noting that “the distance gives them a certain safety.” For two elite snipers tasked with an important duty, “it’s okay to let the guard down because they’re so far away from each other.” Derrickson elaborated: “I think that got them to draw into each other in a way that they never would have if they weren’t at such a distance.”

“Both Of Them Are Surprising In The Choices They Make”

Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy Brought Much To Their Roles That Wasn’t On The Page

The success of the love story at the heart of The Gorge hinges on the chemistry between Miles Teller’s Levi and Anya Taylor-Joy’s Drasa. On top of the fact that “they’re very good, very nuanced actors, and they’re consistently interesting in the films that they had done”, Derrickson said “both of them are surprising in the choices they make.” He elaborated even more on the subject: “Actors make creative choices in every line that they deliver and every action that they take, and both of these actors were really surprisingly original in the choices that they would make in various scenes. It was always surprising to me and they had great chemistry between them.”

Derrickson revealed even more about what specifically made Teller and Taylor-Joy’s work in The Gorge so special. “Anya is one of the more creative actresses I’ve worked with in my career.” he stated, “She’s always surprising.” As for Teller, Derrickson praised his dedication to the minutiae of the role: “I think Miles brought a lot of credibility to the role. He has a lot of friends and family members who are in the active military. He was very adamant about portraying that realistically and accurately, so they trained very hard and did everything the way real soldiers do.”

“I Didn’t Feel Obliged To Make A Sequel”

Derrickson Touches On What To Expect From The Black Phone 2

Derrickson’s horror film The Black Phone was a surprise hit at the box office in 2021, and a sequel was ultimately greenlit and had “just finished shooting” at the time of this interview. The good news for those worried about diminishing sequel returns is that Derrickson “didn’t feel obliged to make a sequel.” The director made clear that “It wasn’t a foregone conclusion”, suggesting that he struck on something that truly resonated and warranted another film in the franchise.

As to what that resonance was, Derrickson had more to say: “I realized that if I made a big movie after Black Phone, which was The Gorge, by the time I was ready to shoot another film, all those kids would’ve been in high school. So, it’s basically a high school coming-of-age movie in the same way that the first movie was a middle school coming-of-age film.”

Check out our other The Gorge interview with Miles Teller & Anya Taylor-Joy.

Source: Screen Rant Plus