The Long Walk
Starring Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson and Mark Hamill
MA15+
4.5/5
The Long Walk is the third and by far the best Stephen King adaptation of 2025 (after The Monkey and The Life of Chuck),
In a totalitarian future United States, fifty contestants must walk non-stop across the country, with the winner being the sole survivor.
As the title suggests, The Long Walk (based on King’s 1979 novel) is a film of mostly walking and talking, but it’s perhaps the most gripping, gut-wrenching mainstream film of the year.
The footsteps of the contestants become the pulse of the film, and the hope, despair and growing fatigue of every walker is palpable.
The characters are nuanced and engaging, and the enthralling dialogue is intricate but still feels natural (the hallmark of a good book-to-movie conversion). Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and McVries (David Jonsson) form a powerful bond and drive each other onward, and The Long Walk cements both actors as rising stars.
Mark Hamill makes a hateful impression despite his limited screen-time as the sadistic Major overseeing the Walk.
The phenomenal cinematography often evokes Depression-era photography, features frequent long takes, serene landscape shots and tight, immersive close-ups, and makes brilliant use of foreground and background to maintain tension.
Garraty will have a moment of support or humour with a fellow walker, but another walker in the periphery, stumbling along or deathly pale, keeps the depravity of the situation never far from our minds.
The Long Walk also rivals 28 Years Later for graphic violence, but while the deaths are horrific and unfair, they never feel gratuitous.
My only issue with the film is the unmemorable, slightly overwrought score.
A riveting thriller suffused with rich character work, remarkable cinematography, stark cruelty and human connection, The Long Walk is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
