The Long Walk review
An exciting (and depressing) walk through Stephen King’s first novel.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Long Walk
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Written by JT Mollner
Starring Cooper Hoffman, Davin Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Joshua Odjick, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer and Roman Griffin Davis
The Long Walk Review
For my entire life I’ve had it wrong. I was sure that Carrie was the first novel written by the prolific master of horror Stephen King. It was the first book he got published…that remains accurate. I assume the story about his wife plucking pages of it from the trash and encouraging him to keep writing is too. What isn’t true, it turns out, is that Carrie is his first novel. Though it wasn’t published until years later (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman), The Long Walk was the first novel Stephen King ever wrote. I, of course, learned this because it now serves as the millionth film adaptation of King’s writing. Ok that’s probably not quite accurate either…but it has to be in the 50s. It’s not even the last one coming out this year. Edgar Wright’s The Running Man will be out this November.
The Long Walk isn’t a completely faithful adaptation of King’s original novel…but the crux of his story remains. By that I mean The Long Walk is exactly what its title suggests. Story changes and the job of adapting the story King wrote in the 60s fell to the writer/director of last year’s Scare Value Award nominated Strange Darling, JT Mollner. Though I’ve never read the original novel…it’s nearly impossible to imagine that Mollner hasn’t fully tapped into the feel that King was going for in The Long Walk. This is a Stephen King tale through and through. It’s dark…it’s harrowing…and, in the end, it leaves you wondering what exactly it has to say about the human condition. You can use those thoughts to try and fill the emptiness that The Long Walk spends its journey planting inside of you. You know, like any good Stephen King story.
People have been trying to adapt The Long Walk for some time now. I’m not exactly sure what the roadblocks were. It’s a simple premise…which results in a remarkably straightforward story and production. You just need a road and a large but expendable cast. Like I said…it’s a simple premise. One teen from each state is selected to take the long walk. It’s meant to inspire hope in the way that all insane dystopian battle royales do. The rules are simple. You walk. If you fall below three miles per hour…you get a warning. If you can’t get back to pace within ten seconds…you get another warning. You get three warnings and then you’ll be executed if you fail to get back on track. You can wipe away warnings by walking for an hour without receiving another one.
The last man standing wins the prize. In this case, a boatload of money and a granted wish. Not like…a genie will arrive and grant a wish…it has to be something that can actually be accomplished. This is all happening because the last great war left America devastated. It’s a joyless world where free thought and creativity have long been banished. The generation walking here grew up without a lot of the books and art that influenced the world…they exist now as fairy tales…and people are put to death for treating them as more than that. That tidbit informs the goals of one of our lead characters. We’re introduced to a number of the walkers…but it’s clear early on which ones the story is going to be focusing on.
At the center of The Long Walk are Ray (Cooper Hoffman) and Pete (David Jonsson). Their friendship is the beating heart of the story. Even as they buddy up with a couple of other walkers…it’s obvious that Ray and Pete are the one’s we’re following on this journey. The walkers are followed by armed soldiers to carry out the executions…and camera to document the walk to the world watching at home. They’re led by a character simply called The Major (an unrecognizable Mark Hamill). The Major is effortlessly unlikable. Ray and Pete are equally easy to care about.
The Long Walk doesn’t pull any punches on its brutality. Eliminated walkers are unceremoniously executed with a bullet to the head…often front and center of the screen. There’s no second trick coming. We simply watch this nightmare unfold from a few minutes into the movie until just before the credits roll. It’s a testament to all involved how engrossing The Long Walk turns out to be. Mollner’s script keeps things interesting. Director Francis Lawrence, who fittingly has helmed most of the Hunger Games franchise, keeps the walk exciting. It’s, unironically, perfectly paced. There are standout scenes all over the film…some that won’t soon leave your mind.
While I’m not 100 percent sure that The Long Walk completely sticks the landing in its final moments…it makes definitive choices and leaves you to think about them. This is what I’d describe as an excitingly depressing movie. There’s heart amidst the heartlessness. The long walk can’t end well for 49 out of the 50 participants. Maybe it can’t end well for anyone. Maybe that’s the point.
Scare Value
The Long Walk took a (no pun intended) long time to reach movie screens…but that wait has paid off with a prize for the audience. A harrowing, memorable story unfolds while an increasingly smaller number of people walk down a road to nowhere. The story doesn’t compromise…the camera doesn’t let you look away. For as simple as this dystopian battle royale is…it finds hidden depth all over.
3.5/5
The Long Walk Link
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