Overview

• Francis Lawrence directs JT Mollner’s adaptation of King’s 1979 novella, with Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson and Mark Hamill leading the cast.
• Critics describe a dystopian televised endurance march where teenage contestants who fall below a mandated pace are executed on the spot.
• Reviewers highlight the film’s emotional center in the bond between Ray Garraty and Pete McVries, praising Hoffman and Jonsson’s performances.
• The filmmaking is noted for desaturated, vintage-tinged visuals and a tightly confined perspective, alongside repeatedly explicit on-screen killings.
• The film carries an MPA R rating for strong bloody violence and grisly images and opens in U.S. theaters on Sept. 12.