By Bob Grimm
There have been a lot of good or even excellent movies this year that have garnered my admiration—yet I am in no rush to see them again.
Bring Her Back was one of those. Man, that movie knocked me on my ass—in a good way—but I don’t know if I will ever watch it again. Now The Long Walk has joined this category: I dug it; I appreciate it; I won’t put myself through it again anytime soon.
The Long Walk was of the first books Stephen King ever wrote, released under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. It’s not one of King’s supernatural efforts; it offers more of a dramatic, horrific scenario than scares.
Years after a fictional American civil war, young men gather for an annual ritual that requires them to walk until just one man remains standing, winning vast riches. The catch: When you bow out, you are executed on the spot.
Cooper Hoffman stars as Raymond, the first participant we see as he’s leaving his tearful mom (Judy Greer) at the walk’s starting line. Other participants include Peter (David Jonsson of Alien: Romulus), Stebbins (Garrett Wareing) and Hank (Ben Wang). At the start of the walk, it isn’t fully clear just how serious the consequences for slowing down or dropping out are, but that’s made perfectly clear before the film’s title hits the screen a few minutes in.
Mark Hamill, veteran of another Stephen King movie this year (The Life of Chuck), is on hand as the mysterious Major, a gravelly voiced, solemn guy hiding behind sunglasses and riding behind the walkers, egging them on and overseeing the whole thing. He’s one of 2025’s great film villains.
The participants manage to stay up for days and even sleep while moving forward. They begin to form bonds and allegiances that are touching, funny and absolutely heartbreaking when the number of walkers begins to diminish—and they diminish in very gory fashion, as this movie easily earns its R rating. The graphic depiction of the walkers dying via gunshot is extremely gory without feeling gratuitous, but if you can’t handle onscreen violence, avoid this one.
Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, proves with each passing film that he’s a chip off the old block. He’s the emotional center of the film, delivering pages of dialogue in long stretches, with his performance always maintaining a credible level of intensity. Jonsson matches him step by step and is another young actor who I suspect will be around for a very long time.
The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed all but one of the Hunger Games films, meaning he’s no stranger to dystopian survival stories. The movie is decidedly bleak, but we never look away, because Lawrence and his cast do such a fine job of giving us a scenario and characters about which we care. Not one of the deaths depicted in the film feels like a throwaway; every time a life is ended, it hits hard.
The Long Walk will likely stand as the most critically acclaimed Stephen King film (it currently holds that title on Rotten Tomatoes), yet many people will say they hate it. (The person with whom I attended the film falls into this category.) It’s a tough film to watch, and if you are in a bad mood already, this film will amplify that bad mood.
The Long Walk admirably sticks to its premise, delivers on that premise, and pulls no punches. Some stories don’t have happy endings—and this is definitely one of those stories.
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