• Horror
• Science Fiction

The Long Walk 2025

The 2025 film The Long Walk is a dystopian survival thriller directed by Francis Lawrence (of The Hunger Games fame) and written by JT Mollner, based on the 1979 novel by Stephen King (published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman). Set in a bleak, totalitarian alternate 20th-century America reeling from war and economic depression, the movie centers on an annual, televised competitive walking marathon known as "The Long Walk." Fifty teenage boys, including protagonist Raymond "Ray" Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), volunteer for the gruesome event, which requires them to maintain a pace of at least three miles per hour (4.8 km/h) nonstop. The rules are brutally simple: fall below the required speed or stop after three warnings, and you are immediately executed by the accompanying armed soldiers led by The Major (Mark Hamill). The walk is a marathon of endurance that breaks the contestants down physically and psychologically, focusing heavily on the developing camaraderie and deep, existential conversations between Ray and his fellow walkers, particularly Peter McVries (David Jonsson). The plot culminates after days of walking as only a few boys remain, with the final survivor promised a massive cash prize and the fulfillment of any single wish. The film's conclusion sees Ray stop walking and being executed, allowing Pete to win, who then uses his wish to kill The Major, only to keep walking into an uncertain future. Released by Lionsgate on September 12, 2025, the film was largely a critical success, receiving an 88% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 71 on Metacritic. Critics praised the adaptation for being a bleak yet captivating slow-burn survival saga that effectively captured the emotional power, quiet humanity, and moral tension of King's novel, highlighting the soulful and heartfelt central performances by Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson. The film's measured direction and focus on psychological collapse over spectacle were noted as key strengths, with the central friendship between Ray and Pete forming the heart of the intense ordeal. However, some reviewers found the deliberate pace slow or repetitive, though many connected with the grueling and unforgettable nature of the film. Commercially, the movie performed well against its budget, grossing a worldwide total of $62 million (as of November 2025) against an estimated $20 million production budget, surpassing its break-even point and several other 2025 releases. Regarding streaming, the film had a relatively long theatrical window for its genre and debuted on PVOD (Premium Video On Demand) platforms in October 2025, just in time for the spooky season. Read More

• 2025
• 1 h : 48 min
• 986 views
• 6.657
• R