The Long Walk (2019) is not your typical ghost story, and it’s neither a tale of people trying to take advantage of witchcraft. The movie tries to go a little further telling a story of genuine feelings that burns with intensity and human emotion. Without forgetting the horror side of its nature, it is all at once a culturally rich ghost story, a grim near-future sci-fi, and mystery with life and death stakes that spans across decades.
With the original title Bor Mi Vanh Chark in the Lao language, and set in the Vientiane Province, in Laos, the movie centers on an old hermit who discovers that the ghost of a road accident victim can transport him back in time fifty years to the moment of his mother’s painful death. He manages to exploit his ghostly companion’s ability to traverse time, hoping to prevent his mother’s suffering from a terminal illness.
This is the new work of Mattie Do, born to Lao refugees and raised in Los Angeles, but with her film career set in the Asian country. She is known for the awards-winner horror films Dearest Sister (aka Nong Hak) (2016) and Chanthaly (2012). Her frequent collaborator Christopher Larsen has been the writer of the screenplay.
The main cast for The Long Walk (2019) is formed by Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy, Vilouna Phetmany, Por Silatsa, Noutnapha Soydara, Chanthamone Inoudome, Brandon Hashimoto, Vithaya Sombath, and Manivanh Boulom.
During the past 2 years, and after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 2019, The Long Walk (2019) has taken part in numerous worldwide film festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Busan International Film Festival, Warsaw Film Festival, QCinema International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Göteborg Film Festival, Malaysia International Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, and Sitges Film Festival amongst others. After a limited theatrical release in the USA on February 18, 2022, it is scheduled to come out on digital platforms on the 1st of March, 2022, by Yellow Veil Pictures.
Watch the official trailer for The Long Walk (2019) here.
