56. On its own it’s just a double digit number, but it’s quietly impressive with its association with Stephen King.

In 1979 the book The Long Walk was published by Richard Bachman – a pseudonym for Stephen King, and it marked his sixth book published.

It didn’t take long before the film industry took an interest in his work, when his first novel Carrie was made into a film, made by Brian De Palma in 1976.

Since then the film industry has been churning adaptations out on a regular basis, with the release of The Long Walk marking the impressive number of being the ...56th. It goes up substantially when you take into consideration TV adaptations of over 35 to date.

In other words, King’s work is popular.

It also has a very simple premise, of youths taking part in a walk, but it’s a dark and disturbing journey.

Getting a lift to an event is Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman). He was ‘lucky’ enough to win a national lottery draw for a place on the walk for only fifty young men.

It’s a televised marathon, put on by the military in a bid to inspire all those who watch it, where there can be only one winner, who will take away a huge cash prize, as well as a wish of their choice.

All those involved, including Garraty, are fully aware of the risks involved, where they have to maintain a pace of three miles per hour – day and night without any breaks – and if they break that rule three times, they are executed on the spot.

Despite the great risk of death, Garraty and the other young men, set off on a walk which their very lives depend on.

Francis Lawrence is no stranger to directing adapted films, as every film he’s directed has been either an adaptation of a either a book or comic; this includes helming four The Hunger Games films.

This also happens to be the first story wrote King ever wrote, even though it didn’t get published until after a few other books.

It has a camaraderie tone that is reminiscent of King’s 1982 novella The Body, which was adapted into 1986’s Stand by Me, directed by the late, great Rob Reiner; this film shares that bonding experience of young men out on their own, albeit with far darker consequences.

There are strong, moving performances from its young male cast, including Hoffman (Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son), and the British actor David Jonsson, as well as one hovering, sinister older male figure, with Mark Hamill once again being touched by the dark side, playing The Major.

They all certainly got their step count in, as the fifty youngsters are always moving forward. Lawrence mostly shoots them from the front, as they walk away from their pasts. He very rarely shoots them from behind, so their immediate future is always unclear.

The dialogue does most of the heavy lifting, as it helps define all the young individuals taking place, sometimes with broad strokes, but doing just enough for the group of four who become friends.

Where it stumbles, like some of the participants, is the inevitability of it all. Once that initial fifty number starts to dwindle, the film’s physical direction is an obvious one. The demise of many of the participants is bleak and heartbreaking, and yet the longer we stay on the walk, any sense of any surprises evaporates. And although the walkers can’t see what’s coming, sadly audiences can.

The script is also a little niggly; although the prize is an attractive one, it’s never made clear how bad all the young males in the country, who apparently applied to the lottery, want to go on this walk, and more importantly why; what we do know is that it’s an alternative 20th century, set in a dystopian seventies, but that’s all we know. What kind of lives are these young men living if they all apply to take part in a walk where certain death is a distinct possibility?

It’s also supposed to be televised, but we don’t get any evidence of it; how would this televised event be received by audiences? With some reaction to it, the film would feel less insular than it does.

We also don’t why these young men would put their lives on the line – how bad is the world they live in, that makes them choose a death walk as a ray of light?

The cast do their very best to keep their walk engaging, as does Lawrence with his direction, but you do get the impression that the film’s plot doesn’t quite go the distance it needed to, to be considered worthwhile.