By Alan Ng
NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! As the title implies, there’s a serial killer on the loose in Warren Skeels and Legion M’s latest slasher/horror, The Man in the White Van.
It’s the early 70s in Florida, and a young teen, Annie (Madison Wolfe), is having trouble living as the middle child to the older popular sister, Margaret (Bred Bassinger), and her precocious younger, Daniel (Gavin Warren). For their trouble, Annie’s parents (Sean Astin and Ali Larter) bought her a horse, Rebel, as a gift they regret giving her.
As Annie struggles through adolescence, she notices a white van following her everywhere she goes. It slowly creeps up behind her before speeding past and shows up at odd locations where she rides Rebel. At least Annie has the courage to tell her parents and family, but they write it off as teenage paranoia. The only one who listens to her (sorta) is her best friend Patty (Skai Jackson).
The rest of the film is about Annie trying to suss out her instincts and feelings. Is she wrong? Is she seeing things? Is there a real serial killer waiting to make their move?
Then there’s the gimmick. I want to leave it somewhat of a mystery, but it has to do with time starting in 1979 as the man in the white van is still running rampant doing what serial killers do, and the clock ticks back one year throughout the film until we get to the main timeline.