The Long Walk Movie Recap and Ending Explained

The story unfolds in a dystopian America during the 1970s, after a massive war has left the nation in ruins. The regime in power launches a harsh competition known as The Long Walk, offering unimaginable wealth and one granted wish to whoever makes it to the end. Ray Garraty is among the boys chosen through a national lottery. His mother, Ginny, escorts him there, deeply worried as her son steps into a contest that could take everything from him.

Ray joins a group of other boys, including Peter McVries,Richard Harkness, Hank Olson ,Thomas Curley, Gary Barkovitch, Billy Stebbins, Arthur Baker and Collie Parker. They’re greeted by the Major, who oversees the event and lays out the rules. Each walker must maintain a pace of three miles per hour, and anyone who slows down will receive warnings. After the third one, they’re “given a ticket.” The Major insists that The Long Walk is meant to inspire the rest of America to stop being complacent. The last boy still standing will be declared the winner.

⚠️ WARNING: FULL SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️
This article contains major spoilers. If you haven’t watched the movie yet, consider stopping here. Everything below breaks down the plot in full detail, so continue only if you’re ready to know exactly what happens.

The contest begins, and the boys start moving while military vehicles trail behind them. As they walk, they slowly get comfortable with each other, sharing stories and talking about what they plan to do if they win. Curley starts cramping up and falls behind, earning his first warning. Ray and Peter try to help him, but the pain is too much, and Curley collapses. He breaks down, insisting it isn’t fair, and moments later he gets his ticket, a bullet straight to the head. The others are horrified but keep walking. Another boy dies soon after when he suffers a seizure on the road.

As the group pushes forward, Barkovitch, who has already isolated himself from the others, starts provoking another walker named Rank (Daymon Wrightly). Barkovitch taunts him until Rank swings at him, causing Rank to fall behind and get shot. The rest of the boys pull away from Barkovitch, and Peter calls him a killer.

Later that day, the walkers start feeling the strain, dealing with hunger, dehydration, and the desperate urge to relieve themselves. Ray shares part of his ration with Hank after Hank drops one. Another boy stops to deal with diarrhea, and after receiving his third warning, he’s shot. Night falls, and Peter keeps Ray awake by getting him to talk about his life back home, since Ray already has three warnings and needs to walk for three more hours to clear them. Ray snaps at him, convinced Peter is just waiting for him to fail so he’ll have a better chance to win.

The walkers are soon forced up a steep hill, and several of them fall behind and are executed. Once they reach the top, Ray apologizes to Peter.

The next morning, Harkness’s ankle gives out from the climb, and he can’t go any farther, which leads to his execution. The walkers eventually pass the one hundred, mile mark. One boy suddenly breaks from the line and sprints toward a nearby building, but he’s shot before he reaches the door. The moment shakes the group and fuels their anger toward the Major and the entire regime.

They keep moving, talking about what they truly want out of all this. Before long, their frustration boils over, and they start chanting, “To hell with the Long Walk! To hell with the Major!” right in front of the soldiers.

On the third day, Art nearly dies after having to stop briefly to relieve himself. Ray and Peter talk about why Ray entered the Long Walk. Ray explains that the Major executed his father, William (Josh Hamilton), for standing against the regime and refusing to pledge allegiance. Ray plans to use his wish to get a carbine and kill the Major. Peter tries to talk him out of it, opening up about growing up under an abusive uncle and never knowing his real parents. He hopes to use his wish to change the country for the better.

They pass a family of three, and Ray sees them as spectators waiting for someone to die. Peter tells him they’re just another family caught in fear and uncertainty, not so different from the boys on the road.

Before the group reaches the two-hundred-mile mark, several more boys are killed while trying to escape or fight back against the soldiers. As night approaches, Hank starts hallucinating and wanders back toward the escorting troops. They shoot him in the stomach and leave him bleeding on the road as a warning to everyone else.

On the fourth day, Parker tells the remaining boys that Hank was the only one who had a wife, and they all agree to put together as much of their prize money as possible to support her if any of them win. Meanwhile, Barkovitch, weighed down by guilt over Rank’s death, begs Ray to let him stay with their group. Ray agrees, but moments later, Barkovitch drifts to the back and cuts his own throat.

On the fifth day, the walkers are closing in on the three-hundred–mile mark. Only Ray, Peter, Art, Stebbins, and Parker remain. As they move into a town, Ray is forced to remove his shoes after stepping on a nail he can’t leave lodged in his foot. His feet are already covered in blood. He spots Ginny on the side of the road, heartbroken at the sight of her son in that condition. Ray runs toward her, apologizing for ever taking part in the contest, but Peter quickly guides him back into line before the soldiers execute him.

After passing the three-hundred-mile mark, Parker rushes one of the soldiers and grabs his rifle, killing a guard before another shoots him. Before they can finish him off, Parker turns the gun on himself and pulls the trigger.

Night falls, and Art’s nose begins bleeding uncontrollably. Stebbins tells him it’s a sign of internal bleeding. Ray and Peter carry him as long as they can, but Art accepts what’s coming and asks them not to watch when he’s executed. They agree and let him go.

Ray, Peter, and Stebbins cross a bridge together. Stebbins’s condition worsens, and he finally explains why he entered the Long Walk. He’s one of the Major’s many illegitimate children, and he hoped to use his wish to move into his father’s home. Realizing he doesn’t have much time left, he says goodbye to Ray and Peter, then steps back toward his own death.

Ray and Peter are the last two standing. They walk into a town where crowds wait to see who will survive. Peter tries to let Ray win by stopping, but Ray lifts him back up and forces him to keep going. Ray eventually stops and fires three shots into the air so Peter can take the victory. Peter is devastated by the loss of his friend, but the Major steps in to congratulate him.

Peter uses Ray’s wish for a carbine and points it at the Major. The Major calmly tries to talk him down, but Peter chooses to honor his friend and executes him. He then continues down the dark, rainy road alone.

THE LONG WALK