THE LONG WALK

Sole survivors

- Matt Maytum

A deadly competition that young people compete in yearly to boost morale in a dystopian US... The Hunger Games stalwart Francis Lawrence has been in this ballpark before, but this spare, punishing Stephen King adaptation is worlds away from Panem and its YA worldbuilding.

The opening text dump - in the form of a letter sent to Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) - sets out the film's lean, mean premise. In an alternate timeline, the Long Walk is an annual event that young men volunteer to compete in. The rules are simple: keep walking, on a specified path, and don't dip below 3mph. You get three brief warnings, and after that it's pointblank execution on the spot. The last man walking out of the 50 contenders gets unimaginable riches and a single wish granted.