In a dark and strange corner of the world, there lies a deep and sinister gorge, shrouded in strange fog, and housing a mystery. On either side of that gorge stands a watch-tower, where a lone sentinel stands guard for a single year, holding the line against anything that might try to clamber out of that accursed gash in the earth. There is a rule, no communication between the watch-towers, but one day, one of the lonely guards breaks the silence.

It’s an intriguing concept for a story, and one that certainly imbues director Scott Derrickson’s latest film, The Gorge, with an air of mystery and enigmatic fascination. The story of the pair of cynical elite snipers, Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa, (Anya Taylor-Joy) slowly turning from foes to friends above a shadowy hellmouth, is a concept that cannot help but drag the audience in.

However, it would also be fair for audiences to meet The Gorge with a certain level of reservation. It’s got a mixed pedigree, coming from writer, Zach Dean whose last big sci-fi movie was the rather terrible The Tomorrow War, which, possibly due to studio interference, failed to make good use of its time-war based conceptual potential. Similarly, The Gorge begins with a rather unique and brilliant premise, and while it doesn’t squander it entirely, it plays it out in a largely predictable and somewhat flat manner, a few small surprises aside.

That’s not to say that it isn’t fun. As Derrickson has proven time and again with films like Doctor Strange and The Black Phone, he’s an adaptable director, able to wring many emotions from his audiences. However he’s not the most subtle, and it doesn’t help matters that the film also suffers from being shot largely in medium to close range, rather like the largely green screened film that it is. Aside from the location moments, the  whole affair feels oddly staged, in obvious sets which at times defy logic. Of particular note being the winter scenes where the actors largely just stand around in the open air, looking comfortably warm in the same T-shirts or short skirt combos that they do in the summer scenes, while fake flakes of CGI snow flutter at the edge of shot.

The film does come more alive during the inevitable descent into the titular chasm, which is a foggy, Zdzisław Beksiński-influenced hell of strange growths and unnatural figures, but even then, it feels and looks cheaper than it should, and never quite manages to sell the terror it’s trying to evoke. Instead, it feels rather like a cheesy B-movie, sapping the goodwill that the original concept built up with its initial mysteries. There’s a hanging air and sense that everyone involved knocked this together over a month between ‘real’ projects, that everyone involved is just picking up a cheque, and no-one was invested in making this any more than a piece of utterly disposable entertainment.

It’s not a bad movie. It’s actually rather fun at times, particularly due to the general likability of Teller and Taylor-Joy who are charismatic and attractive deuteragonists, given just enough background by the script to lift them out of non-existence. But there’s a nagging feeling at the back of your mind that this whole escapade would have made a far more entertaining novel. Better yet, a video game, as that’s what the plot and scenario most closely resembles; a mediocre movie adaptation of a mid-tier video game. Nothing to write home about, but not a bad way to spend a couple of forgettable hours.

Available to stream on Apple TV now