THE LONG WALK Social Media Reactions Praise "Brutal," "Endlessly Evocative" Adaptation Of Stephen King Book

THE LONG WALK Social Media Reactions Praise "Brutal," "Endlessly Evocative" Adaptation Of Stephen King Book

The first reactions are in for The Long Walk, The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence's big screen adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel. You can find out what they're saying right here...

By JoshWilding - Aug 20, 2025 01:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Horror
Source: Fear HQ

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, comes The Long Walk, an intense, chilling, and emotional thriller that challenges audiences to confront a haunting question: how far could you go?

The first social media reactions just hit X, and they're all overwhelmingly positive. We know this is often the case with the critics who weigh in on X after early screenings, but taking these at face value, it seems Lawrence has done the near-impossible: he's delivered a sublime adaptation of King's work. 

The prolific writer has authored a long list of classic books. However, outside of a few exceptions, most have been poorly handled during the transition from page to screen (Cell, Firestarter, and The Dark Tower are a few recent examples).

The Long Walk has, no pun intended, been a long time coming. Filmmakers like George A. Romero and Frank Darabont have previously taken a crack at the material, but Lawrence is the first to get it over the finish line. 

The movie's cast features Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Josh Hamilton, with Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill. 

Lawrence directs The Long Walk from a screenplay by JT Mollner (Strange Darling), while Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Francis Lawrence, and Cameron MacConomy produce.

The Long Walk arrives in theaters on September 12. You can check out the first reactions (via FearHQ.com) below. 

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bobevanz
bobevanz - 8/20/2025, 1:08 PM
I'll be seeing this for sure. Too bad this site can't cover the other +20 movies coming out this year, most of which will be better than any of these CBM's lol. I guess that's my job
Matador
Matador - 8/20/2025, 1:16 PM
@bobevanz - You should beat Josh to the punch his too busy writing 10 things that worked and 20 things that didn't work.
Kadara
Kadara - 8/20/2025, 3:20 PM
@bobevanz - Send your recommendations bud, I'm always on the lookout for a great movie.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 8/20/2025, 1:15 PM
Looks promising, nice to see Hamill involved with this one.
SuperCat
SuperCat - 8/20/2025, 1:18 PM
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IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 8/20/2025, 1:23 PM
"The Long Walk has, no pun intended, been a long time coming."

I don't think this is even a pun.
Shivermetimbers
Shivermetimbers - 8/20/2025, 1:27 PM
David Johnsson was great in Alien Romulus, very excited to see him in this move. These early reactions are always a bit overly positive, but you can typically read between the lines, but these all seem genuinely effusive in their praise. I didnt need to be convinced to see this movie, but they got me a little more hyped for it.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/20/2025, 1:38 PM
Sounds good , cool to see so much praise for the young actors especially Hoffman & Jonsson so kudos to them aswell as the rest of the cast and crew led by Francis Lawrence!!.

The trailers have seemed intriguing imo so looking forward to checking it out when I can.

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OptimusInTime
OptimusInTime - 8/20/2025, 2:15 PM
What's this all about?
StSteven
StSteven - 8/20/2025, 10:31 PM
@OptimusInTime - Oh boy, here we go. So “The Long Walk” was one of the first novels that King wrote, although technically “Carrie” was the first one he published. He wrote a handful of stories under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman early on, which you can find individually or collected in “The Bachman Books” (although the newer printings of that collection leave out the book “Rage” which has to do with a school shooting, so that’s probably why, given the state of that subject in the US these days).

Anyhow, in this particular Bachman book (BTW the upcoming “The Running Man” is another one), the story takes place in a dystopian future right around the corner where every year there is this super popular endurance contest which is literally a long walk starting up in Maine and going across the US. The contestants are young males and the rules are simple: just keep walking. The last man standing gets whatever he wants as a prize. Along the way you are only allowed to stop walking for 30 seconds before you get a warning. After 3 warnings you are shot and killed.

As the article indicates, there are some main and supporting characters who develop friendships and bonds along the way, which makes when what happens happens very gripping emotionally. That’s about all I can say without spoiling anything. For what it’s worth, I originally read the Bachman Books 30 years ago and I still remember the stories like I read them yesterday, so I highly recommend picking them up if you can, especially if you can manage to read this one and “The Running Man” before they come out (they’re actually short stories at around 130-150 pages each, so pretty quick reads).

Hope that helps! :)
OptimusInTime
OptimusInTime - 8/21/2025, 10:11 AM
@StSteven - amazing thanks!
StSteven
StSteven - 8/21/2025, 11:41 AM
@OptimusInTime - Sure thing. ‘Til all are one! ;)
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 8/20/2025, 4:00 PM
Great Year For Horror Movies! Great year for movies in general

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