Our take
Francis Lawrence adapts King's deadly walking contest where boys are shot for slowing down. Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, suicide, pervasive language, and sexual references. Critics warn it is a tough, two-hour endurance test with hundreds of profanities. Powerful but punishing; not for younger teens
Uplifting themes
Perseverance, friendship, and anti-fascist ideas offer fragile hope Some walkers protect others, but survival ethics are complicated
Story (may spoil tone)
In a dystopian 1970s America, fifty teenage boys take part in a deadly annual walking contest, forced to maintain a minimum pace or be executed, until only one survivor remains.
What we flagged
Scores are 0–5: 0 means none; 5 means the strongest we flagged in that category.
Details
Violence Teen walkers are shot, run over, and beaten in a state-sponsored death…
Teen walkers are shot, run over, and beaten in a state-sponsored death march
Language Relentless f-word and harsh insults among exhausted boys
Relentless f-word and harsh insults among exhausted boys
Sex / nudity Crude sexual references and partial non-sexual nudity; no explicit sex…
Crude sexual references and partial non-sexual nudity; no explicit sex scenes reported
Drugs / alcohol Minimal substance use in a survival context
Minimal substance use in a survival context
Frightening Psychological dread, state violence, and hopeless odds dominate
Psychological dread, state violence, and hopeless odds dominate
Self-harm / suicide Suicide is part of the rating rationale and on-screen despair
Suicide is part of the rating rationale and on-screen despair
Sexual violence No sexual violence found in this title
No sexual violence found in this title
Child peril / abuse Teen boys are shot, run over, and beaten in a state-sponsored death mar…
Teen boys are shot, run over, and beaten in a state-sponsored death march
Bullying / discrimination No bullying found in this title
No bullying found in this title
Gore / death / weapons Grisly gun deaths and bodily injury are constant
Grisly gun deaths and bodily injury are constant
Dangerous behaviour March rules and shootings are dystopian, not instructional
March rules and shootings are dystopian, not instructional
Eating disorders / body image No eating found in this title
No eating found in this title
Mental health Exhaustion, trauma, and breakdowns shape the teen contestants
Exhaustion, trauma, and breakdowns shape the teen contestants
Gambling No gambling found in this title
No gambling found in this title
Grief / bereavement Friends watch each other die in real time on the road
Friends watch each other die in real time on the road
Talk after watching
- The story is an anti-violence allegory told through brutality. What did your teen take from that tension?
- Teens die on screen repeatedly. How did the film handle empathy versus spectacle?