Rest easy, dear reader. The Long Walk joins the ranks of Stephen King adaptations that work, mostly. Set in a dystopian future America, the film follows a group of young men that  “voluntarily” join a deadly annual contest known as the long walk in which participants must maintain a speed of 3 miles per hour on foot or die. Each participant must continue walking until there is only one left standing. The losers are shot dead, the winner receives unimaginable fortune and one wish granted by the government. Adapted from the very first novel by King,  scribe JT Mollner (Director, Strange Darling, Outlaws and Angles) adapts the short novel into a full fledged narrative while Francis Lawrence (Director, The Hunger Games franchise) again flexes his talent for young adult survivalist stories. The result is a brutal tale of endurance, friendship, and loyalty that tries to straddle the fence between the early life lessons from the novel and the graphic violence that would satisfy horror fans and King loyalists.

Raymond Garraty #47 (Cooper Hoffman) and his mom Mrs. Garraty (Judy Greer) cruise along the highway headed to the starting point of the long walk. She pleads with him to reconsider but the cut off date has passed and Raymond is determined to finish this contest. He arrives at the start of the race to find the group of 50 young men resting on the highway, awaiting further instruction. they are surrounded by slightly oder soldiers armed with assault weapons and a tank on top of which is perched The Major (Mark Hamill). Expressionless, eyes shielded by mirrored aviators, The Major explains the game. Keep walking until one is left. If you slow down you get a warning. If you stop, you get shot. Why would this be a thing that a struggling country would do? Great question. The Major rattles off some line of reasoning that this contest motivates a country in desperate need of inspiration. Mollner does what he can to give reason to the situation but this is a hallmark of King’s work that was right there from the beginning. You don’t need a reason for what’s happening. The fact is that it’s happening and horrible.

The walk begins and Raymond becomes pals with Arthur Baker #6 (Tut Nyuot),  Hank Olsen #46 (Ben Wang), and Peter McVries #23 (David Jonsson). The four begin to bond and ultimately agree to look out for one another. Certain stragglers are picked off early and we are reminded this ain’t just a casual stroll. Meanwhile, supporting characters Stebbins #38 (Garrett Wareing), Gary Barkovtich #5 (Charlie Plummer), and Collie Parker #48 (Joshua Odjick) offer needed character conflict. The young men traverse a rural wasteland of abandoned towns and spotty population. All the while The Major is barking at them with an almost comically gravely voice and platitudes that would make R Lee Ermy nod in approval. We are treated to dialogue-driven scenes of exposition, learning about each young man and their reason for doing the walk. Thanks to the solid performances by Hoffman and Jonsson, and the rest of the ensemble, we want to hear who these guys are and why they are there. Eventually we get to the painful moments where the ones we were rooting for are picked off until there are but a few left.

I really appreciate Lawrence’s knack for lending not just credibility, but dignity to the stark struggles of youth. In lesser hands we could have just seen this as another splatterfest. Yet Lawrence takes it deadly serious. Molner also makes some decisions that help the story rather than hinder it. Switching out the original novel’s girlfriend character with Raymond’s mom, for instance, gives a weight to his motivation that was otherwise wrapped in the folly of youth. The adjustments that are made certainly help, but they can only do so much with one of King’s early works.

The Long Walk is a tense and gripping survival tale supported by a nasty premise from King, an assist from director Lawrence and writer Mollner who connect the bare bones story to a narrative sinew that feels believable, and an ensemble of very strong, young actors that can sell it. Hamill is villainous, but underused. Greer gives a gut punch performance despite her limited screen time. The film is shouldered by Hoffman’s every-guy turn as Raymond, Wang’s plucky Hank, and McVries heartfelt portrayal. The violence is shocking and sudden, though not unexpected. You might not get your steps in, but The Long Walk is worth a look.