The Long Walk
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
One of the best Stephen King adaptions I've ever seen, THE LONG WALK is relentlessly dark, cruel and a prime example of a literary adaption that honors and expands the original work. Devotees of the novel may be upset at the changes from the text, KIng's first, but they serve the film well.
Taking dystopian to its lowest lows, we are introduced to a smaller scale version of "The Hunger Games", long before that novel was ever published. King wrote THE LONG WALK way back in 1966-1967 in college and it was finally published back in 1979 under his pen name of Richard Bachman. You can feel the influence of the sixties era mistrust of government post-Vietnam throughout.
The book was adapted by the terrific JT Mollner, who wrote and directed the twisted & inventive sleeper thriller, "Strange Darling". It was one of my favorites of 2023 and he brings the same tilted perspective to King's story.
The USA is in dire straits, the national economy has plunged and the masses are discontented. Once a year, the military stages The Long Walk, in which one young man from each state competes in a winner take all, marathon walk to the death.
The rules are simple.
Once you start, you never stop. If you fall below 3.0 miles per hour, you get a warning, if you don't pick up the pace, you get a second warning. After a third warning, you are shot in the head. If you leave the road for any reason, you are killed without warning.
Military vehicles lumber along in front and on back, with the motivational quote spewing leader, The Major (Mark Hamill) yelling, taunting and encouraging the boys along the way.
The dark tone of the film rarely wavers, it's as merciless as the machine guns waiting on the other side of that stopwatch. But just as King's book did when I first read it many years ago, it pulls you into the tale. What would you do? How far could you go?
The cast of young men is excellent.
Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza, Saturday Night) is heartfelt as local boy Raymond Garrity. His reasons for entering are tortured and revealed layer by layer by Mollner's script.
David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus) is exceptional as Peter McVries, whose upbeat attitude and spirit inspires Raymond. The bond the two form over the relentless miles feels real. Jonsson stands out in the cast and was just announced as The New Black Panther in the Marvel films. Based on this and his performance in Alien Romulus, he's a hell of a great choice.
Garrett Wareing is also very stong as Stebbins, who becomes more important to the contest as it wears on, with Stebbins fighting an illness that drags him down. Wareing was just cast as the young Ed Warren in next year's prequel, "The Conjuring: First Communion", taking the role over from Patrick Wilson.
Charlie Plummer (Moonfall) leaves a hell of an impression as Gary Barkovitch, the villain of the walk who seems determined to fell his fellow contestants via barbs and torments. No one writes a despicable a-hole like Stephen King and the character leaps off the pages here.
Ben Wang fairs less well here than he did in his debut in "Karate Kid" Legends". He seems too nice to be the foul mouthed Hank Olson, but definitely scores in the more dramatic moments in the film's final half hour.
Joshua Odjick (It: Welcome to Derry) has real screen presence as Collie Parker, creating a walk participant you'll cheer hard for from start to finish.
Lastly, Roman Griffin Davis (Greenland 2: Migration) breaks your heart as Curly, the race's youngest participant. His fate takes the stakes in the film to a level of reality that never leaves the screen after Curly exits.
Director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) is a great fit for the material and takes what could have been a repetitive tale in lesser hands to some very deep, dark places.
The sense of brotherhood that develops during the very long walk is tangible. The cast has said that shooting the film in real settings, sometimes walking up to 15 miles a day, brought a tangible reality to their bonding. We see that on screen.
This is not a film that you enjoy. It's bleak, filled with graphic executions and brutally realistic depictions of the conditions of the marathon and how the boys break down, both mentally and physically.
The despair and terror faced within is absolutely Stephen King horror of the highest degree.
It's also beautifully structured, packed with realistic, profane dialogue that feels accurate for what's happening and well shot. I haven't heard F bombs dropped with this frequency since "Goodfellas".
Over the years, everyone from George Romero (Night of the Living Dead) to Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) were attached to create the film, but it feels like it landed in the right, caring hands with Lawrence & Mollner.
THE LONG WALK gets a disturbing, powerful and relentless A, but approach the material knowing that you won't watch The Walk, you'll survive it.
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