The Long Walk (2025)

Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay: JT Mollner
Cast: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, Mark Hamill
Cinematography: Jo Willems
Editing: Mark Yoshikawa
Score: Jeremiah Fraites
Genre: Dystopian survival thriller
Runtime: 108 minutes

Another month, another Stephen King adaptation.

After the muddled fantasy that was ‘The Life of Chuck‘, we’re back on solid ground with a horror-adjacent concept. It’s a step in the right direction.

In an America stricken by poverty and under the thumb of a totalitarian regime, a group of young men enter a competition: the titular long walk. There is no finish line in sight. The victor is the last man standing (or walking in this case). They’ve voluntarily submitted to this arduous challenge to win ‘the prize’: anything their heart desires. In many cases, it’s cash – conditions are so poor economically by staying home and sitting it out, you’d probably die of starvation anyway.

The walkers are required to travel at a speed of three miles per hour consistently. Water is supplied along the way. No stopping for a quick doze though. Absolutely no time for a toilet break either. Audiences won’t need one; the film keeps you glued to the comfort of your seat.

The boys are given three warnings if they lag behind. They aren’t excluded from the expedition if they fail to keep up with the crowd. Instead, they’re shot dead, cold and mercilessly; the corpse just left there to bleed out. It’s part of the routine. With each walker meeting his maker, it doesn’t get easier down the road.

Nobody is there to make friends upon entering the contest although a few gang together and call themselves the Musketeers. All for one and one for all. There can only be one winner.

Doyen of dystopia Francis Lawrence, known for directing nearly every ‘The Hunger Games‘ movie, maintains a steady pace. The cast is top-class; Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer and an unrecognisable Mark Hamill as the Major, dark sunglasses stuck to his face. The eyes are the window of the soul. Their absence epitomises a country lacking any humanity, where unfortunate men are slain without a pause for reflection.

‘The Long Walk‘ is soul-crushingly bleak – stick with it to the end even if, like the walkers, your resolve is broken.

My rating: 8 / 10

The Life of Chuck (2024)

Director: Mike Flanagan
Screenplay: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill
Cinematography: Eben Bolter
Editing: Mike Flanagan
Score: The Newton Brothers
Genre: Fantasy drama
Runtime: 111 minutes

If I told you this was a Stephen King cinematic adaptation, you’d think it would be classed in the horror genre, right? Wrong answer: it’s one of King’s forays into fantasy. ‘The Life of Chuck‘ is a short story contained in his 2020 collection ‘If It Bleeds‘ (another such tale, ‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone‘ has already been adapted).

It’s the end of the world as we know it. Nobody feels fine though. Chunks of America are lost to earthquakes and sinkholes, the internet goes down and there’s reports of flooding from around the globe. Even the stars start to vanish from the night sky. There is a constant throughout this apocalyptic scenario: billboards that proclaim: “Charles Krantz: 39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!”.

If you keep watching, (almost) all will be revealed. This is Act Three – we’re seeing Chuck’s life unfold backwards. Starting the narrative with the demise of everything signifies we’ve experienced the climax early. The remainder meanders along. Stretching 128 pages into a feature-length film means a fair bit of what is seen on screens could be chucked away, including an extended dance number featuring the adult Chuck (Tom Hiddleston).

This is Mike Flanagan’s third adaptation of a Stephen King plot, following ‘Gerald’s Game‘ and ‘Doctor Sleep‘. He’s clearly a fan but couldn’t he choose a story to interpret that wasn’t so ponderous?

Nonetheless, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mark Hamill provide strong performances and the young actor playing 11-year-old Chuck, Benjamin Pajak, has serious dance moves. Dare I say this, but perhaps Mr. King should stick to doing what he does best: scaring the wits out of us?

My rating: 5 / 10

‘Salem’s Lot (2024)

Director: Gary Dauberman
Screenplay: Gary Dauberman
Cast: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodward, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Spencer Treat Clark, William Sadler, Pilou Asbæk
Cinematography: Michael Burgess
Editing: Luke Ciarrocchi
Score: Nathan Barr, Lisbeth Scott
Genre: Supernatural horror
Runtime: 113 minutes

A somewhat famous writer, Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman), revisits the town in Maine which he grew up in order to spark some inspiration. Jerusalem’s Lot (the ‘Jeru’ having been worn away on the welcome sign) has that quintessential small-town America feel…except there’s a vampire on the loose. Mears and his band of two-dimensional friends have to defeat the bloodsucking beast, which resembles a CGI-ed Nosferatu. Henceforth, any attempt at crafting Mears’ emotional backstory is promptly disregarded in favour of battling vampires instead. The talented Alfre Woodard and Bill Camp, playing the local doctor and school teacher respectively, are wasted – reduced to spouting terrible lines of dialogue like a couple of suckers.

Every single vampire cliché you can think of is thrown around; wooden stakes through the heart, they’re allergic to sunlight, no reflection in the mirror etc.; I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes. And the obvious jumpscares – even Stevie Wonder could’ve seen them coming.

Curiously, the movie was shot way back in 2021 and went through reshoots and years of postponed potential release dates. Maybe the producers saw the rough cut and thought ‘Oh god it’s so bad but people might forget we’re making it if we never release it.”. Perhaps they were trying to spare us from this cinematic slog. According to director Gary Dauberman, the initial edit lasted three hours before they (thankfully) chopped it down to 113 minutes. Bleeding hell…can you imagine?

I’d consider it to be one of the worst Stephen King book-to-film adaptations I’ve come across. ‘Salem’s Lot? A lot of tripe more like. Fangs for nothing!

My rating: 3 / 10