‘The Man in the White Van’ Review
Stars: Madison Wolfe, Brec Bassinger, Gavin Warren, Ali Larter, Sean Astin, Tom Gillen, Skai Jackson, Noah Lomax | Written by Warren Skeels, Sharon Y. Cobb | Directed by Warren Skeels
Based in part on the real-life crimes of Billy Mansfield Jr., The Man in the White Van is a 1970s set thriller from director Warren Skeels (Siesta Key, Thespians) and co-writer Sharon Y. Cobb (June, On Hostile Ground). It opens with a prologue set in 1970 showing the killer at work before jumping ahead to 1975 where Annie (Madison Wolfe; Cold Moon, Malignant) is riding her horse while Edgar Winter’s “Free Ride” plays on the soundtrack.
Annie is the middle child, with an older sister, Margaret (Brec Bassinger; Stargirl, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged) who is about to be presented at the Debutant’s Ball, and a gun-obsessed younger brother Daniel (Gavin Warren; Night Swim, Fear the Walking Dead).
Her parents Hellen (Ali Larter; Final Destination, Spin the Bottle) and William (Sean Astin; The Invisible Raptor, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) wish she was more like Margaret rather than a tomboy who’s more interested in riding horses than being proper or caring if her legs are properly shaved. But overall, life is good. Or it was until she notices a white van stalking her wherever she goes.
Skeels is quick to point out the illusion of safety that these characters live in. At Sunday breakfast, Daniel tells his father that he needs to teach him how to shoot in case he has to protect the house while he’s gone. His mother says there’s no need, they aren’t on Bonanza. When they get to church, Minister Corman (Tom Gillen; Throttle, Wright Ranch) is telling the congregation about God’s promise to watch over and protect them.
He’s also just as quick to undercut that illusion with frequent flashbacks to the killer stalking and abducting his victims. Unfortunately, short vignettes of an unseen man abducting random women really didn’t do much to help build the film’s suspense level. The time would have been better used on scenes of the killer stalking Annie. And stalk is about all we see The Man in the White Van’s villain doing. The film falls very much into PG-13 territory, so the various acts of rape, torture and murder the killer commits are kept off-screen. Actually, we rarely see him either, much like in Duel or The Car just his van sitting there ominously.
This does make for a rather slow buildup through the first half of the film. But once Halloween Eve arrives and the killer makes his move, The Man in the White Van does build up some decent suspense as Annie, and eventually her sister, are forced to fight for their lives. Cinematographer Gareth Paul Cox (Day of Light, Out of the Wild) contributes some effectively claustrophobic shots both inside and under the van that help put the viewer in Annie’s place.
The cast is solid, with Wolfe doing well as the heroine whom nobody believes until it’s too late and Bassinger effectively annoying as her golden child sibling. Apart from the family, the only other characters of note are Annie’s friend Patty (Skai Jackson; Sheroes, My Dad’s a Soccer Mom) and potential boyfriend Mark (Noah Lomax; Secret Society of Second Born Royals, Brave New Jersey) both of whom do well in small roles.
Overall, with its lack of onscreen violence, sex or swearing, The Man in the White Van is obviously aimed at a younger audience, one around the same age as its fifteen-year-old heroine. And they should get a good scare out of it, making it a decent introduction to the genre. Adults watching along with them should be entertained but probably will find it slow-going in places.
*** 3/5
Relativity Media will release The Man in the White Van in US cinemas on December 13th.
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