Like the Long Walk movie, Stephen King’s original ending changes from the book

It was a year stacked for Stephen King fan. We have already seen Osgood Perkins’ The monkey, Mike Flanagan’S Chuck’s lifeMgm+’s The InstituteNew King’s New Novenever jumpAnd even his illustrated tour Hansel & Gretel. And the king’s train is not slowing down, with Hbo Max IT: Welcome to Derry AND Edgar Wright’S The man running Still ahead.

But this week, all eyes are turned on Francis Lawrence’S The long walkA new obsessive adaptation that is already generating a lot of conversation thanks to its brutal ending and that changes the game.

The film is extraordinarily faithful to the 1979 King novel, but when it comes to the ending, it takes some interesting and darker alternative directions. Looking at him is shocking, and while at the beginning the ending seems exasperating, the more he sinks, the more it seems the right way to close this story.

Break exactly like the film diverges from King’s original ending and because it could be even darker.

The conclusion begins when the competition narrows to Ray Garraty and Peter Mcvries. Stebbins, revealed that he is the illegitimate son of the eldest, collapses after screaming for his death, leaving only the two boys to finish the long walk.

The crowds cheer while waiting to see who will win, but Peter decides to stop and insist that Ray should claim the prize. Ray refuses, pushes him to go on, and then stops unexpectedly, taking his last warning.

In a chilling moment, the largest performs it personally. Peter is crowned the winner, but instead of celebrating, he is crushed by pain.

When the eldest asks for his prize, Peter does not make the noble desire he had once promised, to change the rules so that two boys could survive. Instead, he echoes Ray’s original desire and asks for a soldier’s rifle.

Convinced that Peter does not throw his victory, the eldest is not jolts when the gun is raised. Peter says calmly: “This is for Ray”, pulls the trigger, kills the eldest and then moves away in the distance.

It is a devastating finish, which transforms the already bleak narrative into something even heavier.

In King’s novel, the last three walkers are the same, but their exits are different. Peter is the first of the trio to go, choosing to sit and accept death rather than continue. This leaves Garraty and Stebbins, and while Garraty believes he cannot survive the son of the eldest, Stebbins collapses suddenly, delivering the victory to Garraty.

But Garraty has no moment of triumph. While the crowd rejoices, he alludes another competitor who continues to walk. Broken beyond repair, continues to go on, chasing a ghost opponent in oblivion.

Where the book leaves Garraty lost in madness, the film instead focuses on Peter’s pain and anger, pushing him to take revenge before continuing his walk. Both are heartbreaking, but the film adds a pointed challenge element.

King’s novel was written during the era of the Vietnam War, when the idea that teenagers were sacrificed by a system on which they had no control was disturbingly relevant. That metaphor still affects today, but the film adapts it for a new generation. Young people are not enrolled at war, but are still crushed by broken institutions, poverty, food insecurity and armed violence.

Screenwriter JT Mollner He leans on this, linking the ending to the “Wish” element of the competition. In the film, Ray had always wanted revenge, hoping to win a gun in order to kill the eldest.

When Peter inherits who want and follow, he highlights how the system has corrupt both, stripping any possibility of innocence. The final act does not concern the victory, but the destruction and the way the company breaks its children long before reaching the finish line.

The long walk It was the first novel that King has ever written, and almost fifty years later, he is still uncomfortable pertinent. Whether you prefer the surreal spiral of the book in madness or the avenged rebellion of the film, both versions leave you unstable. This is the point.

The ending of the film might seem a punch, but forces the audience to sit with the same despair and uselessness that the boys endure. It is a story that does not allow you to go easy, and that’s exactly why it lingers.

The long walk Now he is playing in the cinemas, although he has been notified, once you have experienced his conclusion, you may not be in a hurry to revisit him soon.