Apple TV+ may not have been birthed from the Covid-19 pandemic—arriving on our home screens mere months prior at the tail-end of 2019—but like its family-oriented counterpart Disney+, the streamer’s rise came in tandem with a moment perfectly (albeit morbidly) suited to clients remaining planted in one place with nowhere else to go. Perhaps not striking while the iron is hot, the tech giant-turned-film studio has finally decided, in 2025, to marry its initial ambitions for blockbuster fare with the very ambiance of isolation that put a damper on those plans when theatrical viewing was still part of their primary business plan.

“The Gorge,” arriving straight to the streamer just in time for the season of manufactured love, makes prominent use of protracted longing when there are no other options to be found but the one staring you in the face. At the same time, director Scott Derrickson and...