Stephen King insisted on unflinching violence in The Long Walk film

Stephen King insisted the screen version of his 1979 novel The Long Walk include unflinching violence, and filmmakers say they delivered. The dystopian thriller, directed by Francis Lawrence and written by JT Mollner, opens in theaters Sept. 12 from Lionsgate and follows a field of 100 competitors in an annual walking contest in which falling below a mandated pace means death. The story centers on the teenaged contestants and the brutal calculus that leaves only one survivor.

King said he made clear to the creative team that the film must show the physical consequences of its premise. In a recent interview he criticized how many contemporary blockbusters present widescale destruction without portraying human harm, calling that approach "almost, like, pornographic." He added, "if you're not going to show it, don't bother," and said that condition guided the adaptation. Mollner, who previewed the film at Comic-Con after Lionsgate screened the first 20 minutes, said he sought to preserve the "DNA and themes" of King's novel — the beauty and friendship as well as the "brutality of hopelessness and terror" — and that studio and creative support allowed the movie to "keep the teeth...