On March 18, 2021, I received my first update for The Man in the White Van. Legion M (Mandy, Archenemy) announced the project using an amalgamation of scenes from previously released films to form a riveting concept trailer with a creepy, slowed-down cover version of The Turtles’ “Happy Together,” stitching the edit together with a very sinister sensation. Over the years, I received many updates. In October 2023, the film finally premiered at Newport Beach Film Festival. 2021 may feel like forever ago as we head into 2025, but for horror fans who’ve been waiting for Warren Skeels’ second feature to pull into theaters, I think they’ll finally get to see something worth the wait.

The Man in the White Van is loosely based on the nationwide serial killings of Billy Mansfield Jr., who was convicted of five accounts of murder and received four life sentences for crimes committed from 1975 to 1980. Mansfield is one of the grimiest, sleaziest serial killers you’ll ever come across who stalked and assaulted children as young as thirteen years old… and those are just the ones the police know about.

Rolling with that sentiment, The Man in the White Van takes place in 1975. Rewinding to a time of unlocked doors and relaxed concerns, aka the perfect hunting ground for any creep. The Conjuring 2’s Madison Wolfe stars as Annie, a fifteen-year-old girl on the cusp of adulthood who prays for a boy who’ll kiss her before she turns sixteen and loves horses almost as she loves exaggerating the truth. Annie is the personification of a cowgirl, a trait which worries her debutante mother (Spin the Bottle’s Ali Larter) and traveling salesman father (The Invisible Raptor’s Sean Astin) as her imaginative embellishments startle and confuse their uptight houseguests and one-up her picture-perfect sister Margaret (Stargirl’s Brec Bassinger).

Annie’s strained relationship with Margaret exacerbates things within the home. Margaret tends to discuss and scrutinize Annie’s stories, making them immediately exaggerated and past the point of believability. Madison Wolfe and Brec Bassinger have genuine chemistry as sisters, and they understand how to visually present the frustrations of the kind of button-pushing only siblings possess.

When Annie begins seeing The Man in the White Van, her discomfort is dismissed. It’s mistaken as a delusion under the pretext of a girl crying wolf. Skeels does a fantastic job at creating tension and keeping the audience interested by juxtaposing the main story with intense moments of the killer’s spree of kidnappings and murder, but the ominous atmosphere of this slow-burn thriller is the smoothest touch of the director’s film. These elements build upon the serious, threatening nature of the person stalking Annie against her family’s detterance and assistance that she’s seeking attention.

However, as Annie’s claims and terror mount, there’s limited emotional intelligence built into her parents’ characters. Annie is able to get the front door deadbolt updated through her parents’ consideration that this phase is caused by her dad being away on the road so much. Though that may put Annie slightly more at ease, her parents’ repeated obstinance to her numerous assertions remains a baffling, disproportionate response given Annie’s visible fear. This should be the most discerning factor for any parent whose child is experiencing something worth taking seriously.

Regardless, the most glaring factor that makes The Man in the White Van work is Skeels approach to throwback horror. The 1974 set film feels distinctively like a product of the era. The production design and costuming wonderfully represent the time the film takes place in, but Skeels also injects visual aesthetic nods to Halloween and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which obscures the true crime nature of the movie to look more like a ’70s slasher film. The choice never to reveal the killer’s face also helps this faceless antagonist feel as ethereal as one of our masked boogeymen.

Skeels says the creative process has more to do with not wanting to glorify The Man in the White Van. In an interview with Collider’s Therese Lacson at San Diego Comic-Con, Skeels said,

“We really just wanted to kind of tell the victim’s story, especially Annie’s story in particular. I like the unique perspective that it’s really a story about her, a protagonist, and the victim’s point of view. Most serial killer stories or true crime stories are about the M-O of the serial killer, or it’s a journalist tracking a story or a detective trying to get their guy wrapped in a mystery. This is really just a raw experience of this girl living in a carefree world, having no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down by this ominous white van and just how far the length this guy is going to go to capture her.”

That may be more up to the audience to decide. Admittedly, after seeing The Man in the White Van, I wanted to know more about the film’s “Based on a True Story” claim. That may seem like extra credit to some, but inadvertently, the film will make some curious about the unconscionable acts of the aforementioned serial killer, which is why I’ve tried to be courteous to this factor by providing only a generic overview. What’s more striking about that fact is how long these crimes went on because of how police precincts shared information at the time. It’s the same reason The Night Stalker and Ted Bundy were able to remain active for so many years. Fans of The Man in the White Van may also want to check out Netflix’s Unbelievable, which, while a bit more in-depth, features many of these details.

The Man in the White Van won’t satiate anyone with blood lust, and most horror patrons may scowl at its PG-13 rating. Still, while it does leave the viewer to imagine the details, the tactic works well for the film, directing viewers toward the picturesque lives of the victims before innocence becomes lost. If I have any gripes with the movie, it’s the resurrection of an elongated trope involving a landline phone, and it could have probably hastened the pace a little better. Still, The Man in the White Van is remarkably lean considering and remains a positive viewing experience from a director who I think is worth keeping an eye on.