The Long Walk (Trailer Review)

Stephen King, the most renowned horror author of our lifetime, has always exhibited a penchant for the supernatural and science fiction, whether that be an adolescent outcast utilizing her newfound telekinesis to exact vengeance on the town that's mistreated her, a child-consuming alien disguised in the deceptively comforting shape of a clown, a horde of spider-like aliens emerging from a wall of mist, an ordinary man suddenly blessed (or cursed) with the ability to foretell impending tragedies, or an alcoholic patriarch driven to axe-wielding madness by the spirits of a haunted hotel. All of which makes his departure into dystopian political horror more intriguing and grounded in a reality that might resemble our own.

Based on his 1979 novel of the same title, The Long Walk transpires in a futuristic, dystopian United States ruled by a totalitarian regime. Once a year, 50 young men are assembled to participate (either willingly or obligatorily) in a walkathon named "The Long Walk." Whoever wins is compensated with a life-changing amount of cash. The rule is you must maintain a speed of at least three miles per hour. Sounds simple, if physically grueling, enough. However, this is no ordinary competition of masculine stamina. Trailing behind you during the entirety of this arduous walk, watching with the focused eyes of a hawk, are military vehicles, filled with soldiers prepared and eager to fire a bullet into the back of your skull should you fail to maintain the required speed. You develop a sore on your feet? Keep walking! Need to stop and take a breath? Keep walking! Need to tie your shoe? You better do it at breakneck speed! The only way to win is to emerge as the last man standing.

It's an ingenious premise: original, terrifying, nauseating, and painfully relatable. We've all experienced that feeling in gym class, of forcing ourselves to walk or run beyond the limit of our capacity, being able to taste the metal in our mouths, feel our hearts pounding out of our chests, our legs so tired they feel swollen and heavy. As desperately as we want to stop to catch our breath, our teachers blow their whistles and urge us to keep moving. Now imagine the consequence if we don't being plain, swift execution. Not marking one down a letter grade. 

Narratively and thematically, The Long Walk recalls two other modern social horror films. Its once-a-year premise evokes The Purge, in which every year for one night, people are legally permitted to commit the most vile crimes for the purpose of purging themselves of their suppressed hatred and anger. Like James DeMonaco's franchise, this movie takes place in the real world, only in a not-too-distant future that has abandoned all sense of morality. The other film its survival-of-the-fittest, every-man-for-himself premise evokes is the 2017 workplace bloodbath, The Belko Experiment, in which an office full of blue-collar employees are trapped in their building and instructed to murder every one of their colleagues until only one is left alive. These movies boast a real-world edge over their more fantastical contemporaries by way of showing how it is often humans, not demons, ghosts, or witches, who inflict the worst suffering and violence on their fellow citizens. The Long Walk positions the government as the up-front antagonists to these poor, innocent young men aiming only to survive and walk away with a more financially stable future ahead of them. 

The creative team behind this dystopian nightmare is a cause for promise. The adapter is JT Mollner, who previously penned the screenplay to Strange Darling, one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of 2023, and the director Francis Lawrence, who cut his teeth in the horror genre in 2007 with the post-apocalyptic zombie horror, I Am Legend. Since then, he's directed four entries in the Hunger Games franchise: Catching Fire, which remains the highest rated, Mockingjay 1 & 2, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and is returning for the 2026 prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping. While those YA action movies don't technically qualify as horror, they traverse a similar terrain of political and youthful corruption. Specifically, the government forcing its most innocent and vulnerable to fight for their lives and kill others, all for the entertainment of the bloodthirsty masses watching on TV. I don't know what the underlying motivation is behind the walk in this horror movie. Does the government seek to weed out the weakest of its men for the greater good of the country? Has the country grown so destitute that the quickest and most effective way to regain their wealth is to broadcast the executions of 49 young men? Is this walkathon even being broadcast? Hopefully Mollner comes up with some satisfying answers, even if he doesn't wish to over-explain. 

The trailer drops us directly in the commencement of the annual competition, with a group of men walking along a narrow road. The two most recognizable faces are Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour who made a splash for what the critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes celebrated as a "potentially star-making performance" in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, and Charlie (no relation to Christopher) Plummer. However, there's little doubt that the standout of the young testosterone-fueled cast is poised to be David Jonsson (Andy the android in Alien: Romulus). He plays Pete, that type of character who maintains an optimistic outlook even in the grimmest of circumstances and aims to transfer his infectious energy into his less enthusiastic fellow competitors. Based on my extensive knowledge of horror, I can only assume Hoffman's character, Raymond, is positioned as the protagonist who will make it to the end, while Jonsson's upbeat Pete will be the last to die, in which case his death will probably pack the most wrenching gut punch. (What can I say? Horror film is like the one and only puzzle I can usually fit together with ease.)

The director of this sadistic, twisted competition is referred to as the Major, and he's portrayed by Mark Hamill, marking his second role as a horror villain after voicing the modernized, A.I. Chucky doll in the abysmal 2019 slasher remake, Child's Play. Hidden behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses and dishing out orders and rah-rah compliments in a gruff, authoritative voice, Hamill appears to be playing the sort of hypocritical, cowardly human monster who seeks to uplift the spirits of his subjects and get them in touch with their inner masculinity, all while openly leading them to their gruesome, senseless deaths. God forbid he should step into the walk alongside them. Oh, no! He'd much rather be this guy. Judy Greer, pitifully known for playing disposable mom roles, plays none other than Ray's heartbroken, terrified mother. 

According to the trailer, the bleakly beauteous cinematography by Jo Willems will function as another character in The Long Walk, providing a visual counterpoint to the sense of impending doom that hangs over these men's heads like a dark cloud. Speaking of which, the sky appears perpetually overcast, as though a storm is getting ready to rain blood upon them. The trailer contains a lot of wide and aerial shots that capture the austere beauty of the surrounding countryside where the men are embarking on their journey. Large green trees and mountains encircle them. On either side of the narrow, seemingly endless stretch of road is a plain where the grass is tinged with a golden-yellow hue. A serene lake taunts them to jump in and swim as fast and far away from the insanity as possible. While death awaits the majority of these walkers with a harrowing certainty, there is always the indestructible, comforting beauty of nature, Willems seems to remind. In a subtle visual nod to Pet Sematary, another King-based horror story, there's a shot of a dead crow ensnared in the barbed-wire fence of a cemetery. Lawrence and Willems conjure a mood of incessant doom through many similar visuals of deceased animals, beginning with the carcass of what looks like a cow enveloped in cobwebs, lying on the side of the road. In this world, not even the animals are protected from the ugliness. 

In a shot of fairly obvious misdirection, Plummer's character, Gary, stops and kneels down to adjust one of his shoes, provoking a solider to aim a rifle at the back of his head. Given Plummer's status as one of the most prominent actors of his generation, it's safe to assume he'll resume the walk just in the nick of time. The same certainly can't be said for one of the more disposable characters, an Indian-looking boy who collapses in the street and begins convulsing and foaming at the mouth. As the camera tracks backward, the poor young man continues to shake hopelessly, the bang of the inevitable gunshot carrying over into the next scenic shot. "I keep hoping that part gets easier," says Pete, to which Ray replies, "That's what I'm afraid of." Even though these men are coached to look out for themselves in this life-or-death competition, it's clear Ray and Pete are going to quickly form a brotherhood among themselves and maybe some of their fellow walkers. I wouldn't be surprised if Pete ends up sacrificing himself so that Ray can return home to his mother. As I've said, I just sort of... know these things.

Augmenting the atmosphere of gloom are static shots of children solemnly observing these doomed souls from the safety of their homes and bikes. Safe as they may be for now, one day it will be them who are enlisted to join the walk. Innocence and the joy of life are only temporary. "The only guarantee you have as a human being," says Ray, "is that you are going to die. And if you're lucky, you get to choose how you spend those last moments." For Pete, that's with a smile of hope on his face. He understands that at any moment, he could take his last breath, but that's not going to stop him from pushing forward with every ounce of his being. 

The trailer juxtaposes the moral decay eroding the fabric of the country with the soothingly sung 1983 song, "Molly Malone," by The Dubliners, whose patriotic strains evoke "The Star-Spangled Banner." It's intermingled with a cacophony of pulse-pounding electronic music and agonizing screams of pain. But at the end of the road, in the final shot before the title card, lies a rainbow shining through the clouds. A tantalizing symbol of the bright, prosperous future that awaits one lucky man, whose mental and physical strength must surpass those of every other.

With a committed young cast, a spellbinding premise, and (hopefully) enough well-rounded characters to invest the journey with genuine emotional stakes, The Long Walk just might cross the finish line as one of the best original horror films of the year -- and a disturbingly prescient examination of a country falling apart at the seams.

Courtesy of Lionsgate, The Long Walk strolls into theaters September 12th, 2025. Before the competition begins, check out the chilling trailer below.