The Long Walk (2025)
When is a Stephen King not a Stephen King? When it was written as his pseudonym Richard Bachman, in 1979, before he became the legendary horror writer he is today. King is a favourite of mine; his writing style (check out John Ajvide Lindqvist if you're looking for a Scandi-Stephen), themes and personality are so engaging and diverse. I'd love to have a drink with him, I bet he'd be fun.
The Long Walk's premise is simple: in a dystopian future there is a yearly competition where fifty young men undertake a walk to the last man in order to win unspecified riches and status. No turning back, no deviation, hesitation, or repetition. Three warnings and you’re out, and by out I mean unceremoniously executed right there and then.
Sounds brutal and it is, although early on while I found the sudden violence visually visceral, the squelchy sound effects undermined that rawness. That dissipated as the tension and excited anticipation in the deaths diminished. The slasher “who will die next” element of The Long Walk was getting a bit samey and my attention was certainly waning until BANG, all of a sudden my heart was ripped out of my mouth and I was fully emotionally engaged.
David Jonsson is standout superb (again) and co-lead Cooper Hoffman puts in a great performance, too. There’s a lot of dramatic heavy lifting to do, given that this is a linear story with very little deviation from the main events. You are literally watching a death march and every character, no matter how small, sticks in your head and makes an impact. It really is incredible work by all on that front.
I was left a bit stunned by how much The Long Walk dug its claws into me and I'd highly advise you give it the same chance.
A terrible walk and talk, told with admirable simplicity and enriched by an ensemble cast all on form. I had the thought that it could be adapted, like I once years ago envisaged for I Am Legend when reading it, for the stage. Francis Lawrence directed The Long Walk and I Am Legend. The Long Walk is horrific, though it is not a horror. It will get to you, much like death. 8/10
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