Lionsgate's The Long Walk is now in theaters, and this adaptation of Stephen King's sci-fi/horror tale is an undeniably powerful, gruelling experience.
Directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games) and written by JT Mollner (Strange Darling), this take on the story is mostly faithful (some characters are altered or omitted) to King's book - but it does make some big changes to the ending of the book.
The Long Walk focuses on a group of young men in a dystopian version of America who "volunteer" for an annual walking contest that means certain death for all but one of them.
Each contestant must keep his pace above 3 miles per hour (a change from the novel's 4MPH). If a player drops below this speed for 30 seconds for any reason, he gets a warning. If they get three warnings and fail to resume pace after 30 seconds, they are eliminated with a bullet to the head (if they're lucky).
The winner receives a cash prize, and one wish.
Major spoilers follow.
In the movie, the final two contestants are Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and Pete McVries (David Jonsson), who form a very close bond on their journey. Ray, whose anti-authoritarian father was executed by the Major (Mark Hamill) for political opposition, tells Pete that, if he wins, he will wish for one of the guard's guns and exact his revenge.
In the book, it's actually Ray and Stebbins who make it to the end (Pete sits down and accepts his fate), with Stebbins ultimately dropping dead from exhaustion and leaving Ray as the winner. Ray doesn't shoot the Major, however, as he spots a mysterious, shadowy figure (possibly representing Death) beckoning to him in the distance and makes his way towards it.
Things play out very differently in the movie.
With a crowd of spectators and news crews gathered, Pete decides that he can't go on any more and sits down, but Ray convinces his friend to keep going for just a little longer. Pete trudges on, unaware that Ray has stopped walking, thus sacrificing himself to allow Pete to live. The Major shoots Ray in the head as he utters his last words, "I'm sorry, mom."
Pete wishes for a gun, and kills the Major to honor Ray. He then turns and walks off into the darkness.
“The goal with the ending was, and I hope we achieved it, was to make it really surprising and unexpected for Constant Readers who are fans of Stephen King and the book but not to piss them off,” Mollner tells USA Today. “Even though it's a little different, it still feels like it's got the same spirit. So far, the fans of the book that I've talked to feel that way and that just warms my heart when I hear that.”
Have you been to see The Long Walk? If so, what did you make of the ending?
"From the highly anticipated adaptation of master storyteller Stephen King’s first-written novel, and Francis Lawrence, the visionary director of The Hunger Games franchise films (Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Pts. 1 & 2 , and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), comes THE LONG WALK, an intense, chilling, and emotional thriller that challenges audiences to confront a haunting question: how far could you go?"