The Long Walk

R 2025 Horror/Sci-fi 1h 48m

I’ve seen several movies since my last review. I’m sorry I haven’t had the energy to write lately. I just saw The Long Walk and was motivated to rally and write. In short, do yourself a favor and DO NOT SEE The Long Walk. 

The film is well-acted and well-written. It is based on a novel by Stephen King (under the pseudonym Richard Bachman) that I read over the summer so I knew the premise and knew the movie would be dark. I just didn’t realize how dark it would be. The basic premise is similar to the Hunger Games — a young man from each state is selected as a representative for the annual Long Walk. Upon the start of the walk, each entrant needs to walk and keep walking at a certain pace. If the entrant slows down, they receive a warning. After three warnings, their ticket is punched, and they are out of the walk. This continues until there is only one walker left. Having your ticket punched in this case means the military race officials shoot you in the head. There’s a maxim in movies that not showing something and leaving it to the audience's imagination can be scarier or worse than depicting it. Based on this movie, sometimes showing it is worse. I did not want or need to see all these young men graphically being shot in the head. After the news cycles we’ve had the last couple of weeks, I don’t know how anyone could enjoy this movie. I came out of the theater sad, numb and possibly a little scarred. What was the movie's message? It wasn't clear. Possibly "enjoy the moments." If that's the case, instead of going to the movie, go out and enjoy some moments.