It’s not an exaggeration to say that the modern era of horror on the big screen has largely been propped up gby the genius, twisted mind of Stephen King. Since his very first big screen adaptation of Carrie in 1976, the past fifty years have been spent by Hollywood excavating all of the gory gold of King’s literary marvels for the big screen. From ghoulish cave-dwelling creatures to everyday common fears, and his persistent exploration of the horrors of small-town America. There is no fear, big or small, that hasn’t been woven into some wicked tale by Stephen King’s mind, whether on the page or on the big screen.
From that original big screen adaptation with Carrie, warning audiences of what bullying can do to the psyche of young girls, to the seminal cinematic masterpiece The Shining, which was instrumental in pivoting the horror genre from slashers into psychological thrillers. Then there’s It, which has terrorized not just one but two generations of viewers, first on TV in 1990 and then again with the film duology in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Yet King’s legacy of excellence extends beyond the horror genre to include child-friendly classics to Oscar-nominated dramas. The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me are equally considered cinematic masterpieces in their own right and prove him not just to be a one-trick pony but truly a master of his craft. Basically, you would have to be living under the world’s most immovable rock to have missed the fingerprints of Stephen King in modern horror literature, or any form of storytelling for that matter.
Though King’s work spans generations and genres, there is a commonality in his writing that explains why it has remained so culturally relevant for so long. It’s that his writing seems to speak to the cultural moment, always so adept at identifying the pervasive fear of the era gripping readers and audiences across the world. He is so masterful at recognizing the cultural landscape that he can recognize and demystify cultural fears before they even manifest themself. That is the very reason why King’s work is so enduring and so affecting… it is the guiding hand always there to help you through a troubling time.
That cultural timing brings us neatly to Lionsgate’s new release, The Long Walk. The 2025 movie is an adaptation of the 1979 novel, which was one of King’s first feature novels to be published.
Whilst of course, The Long Walk equally embodies those cultural anxieties that are a hallmark of King’s work, the simplicity of the story does suggest amateurish writing. 100 teenage boys are forced to walk through a dystopian America in a televised event where they are killed off one by one. In concept, this is a story that is quite dated now and so reminiscent of the Young Adult boom of 2008–2017. I mean, a televised event with teenagers where they battle to the death is not too dissimilar to Divergent, The Maze Runner, and most of all The Hunger Games. In fact, The Long Walk and The Hunger Games are even further paralleled through Lionsgate’s resident Hunger Games director helming this new adaptation of The Long Walk.
This then begs the question… why does The Long Walk feel so fresh? For a story 46 years old and a concept worn out over a decade ago, what has Francis Lawrence injected into this new version that has revitalized this YA concept?
Truly, the YA genre was declared dead by The Los Angeles Times in 2017. Subsequent attempts at re-awakening the dormant genre ultimately were box office disappointments, including The Hunger Games 2023 prequel: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Yet, here is The Long Walk using that same formula but succeeding both critically and financially.
The truth of the matter is, and with all respect to The Los Angeles Times, the YA genre will never truly go out of style, not so long as young adults feel oppressed by the political regime and unfairly treated by the system. Moreover, especially after the political unrest within America for the past decade, it’s no surprise that kids fighting for their future and battling against unfair systems is connecting with audiences again. 46 years later, The Long Walk is perhaps at its most potent and relatable it has ever been.
The feeling of rebellion, particularly amongst young audiences, feels more relevant now than ever. Sure, it might not have the same box office as The Hunger Games, and it’s not even a Divergent or Maze Runner, but it’s enough of a spark to show this genre is more than alive and kicking… it’s, well… walking. Signalling that there is the call for a YA renaissance in cinemas once again.
This call for a renaissance couldn’t come at a better time for Hollywood, with all of its other franchises tripping and stumbling on the Hollywood road. Marvel and DC are still around but no longer holding the cultural crown as the pinnacle of blockbuster entertainment. Speaking of roads, Fast and Furious has seemingly driven itself completely off one. Star Wars has been absent cinematically for years now and any other franchise not mentioned are either dormant or not operating as they should be. The worst part of all this is that this sudden failure of franchise films was blamed on younger audiences, accusing them of being too obsessed with short-form content like TikTok and X to be able to sit through a feature film.
But the success with The Long Walk, it shows that younger audiences aren’t disinterested in the cinema anymore, it’s more that their interests in what they want to see have shifted away from superhero capes to the flames of rebellion once more. They’re hungry for politically charged commentaries that reflect the instability of their current climate.
And even more so, The Long Walk’s ability to recapture the younger audience’s attention in 2025 shows that Stephen King is still the master of being able to tap into the cultural zeitgeist and fears of the moment. One of his earliest novels is back at the forefront of cultural conversation and inspiring youths nearly 46 years after it was placed on shelves across the country. This solidifies my earlier thesis that King is beyond the master of horror but truly a master of his craft in his ability to recognize and alleviate the fears of the moment through his writings. Just as David Jonsson shows a path out of authoritarian regime at the end of the novel, so too will we be able to weather through the turmoil of the current political state of the world. His novels, the movies based on those novels, and his indelible mark on culture will continue to be viewed as the bookmarks of change within history.
— Darragh Evans