In this derivative thriller, set in the early 1970s, young women are stalked by an anonymous killer.
“The Man in the White Van,” loosely based on the exploits of the Florida killer Billy Mansfield, Jr., is a flaccid and formulaic thriller more beholden to horror-movie conventions than those of true crime.
Unfolding mainly in 1975 in an anonymous suburb, the story (by the director, Warren Skeels, and Sharon Y. Cobb) centers on Annie (Madison Wolfe), a 15-year-old tomboy unnerved by a mysterious white van that appears to be following her. Neither her religious parents (Ali Larter and Sean Astin) nor her prissy older sister (Brec Bassinger) believe her, attributing her fears to an overactive imagination.
Or maybe puberty, a not-so-subtle subtext here as Annie develops a crush on the new boy in school (Noah Lomax) and learns to shave her legs. A drop of blood flowers in the bathroom sink; a slithering snake spooks Annie’s horse. In this kind of movie, few places are more hazardous than the cusp of womanhood.
Brief glimpses of the killer’s previous victims — via hasty flashbacks to muffled screams and van-door slams — interrupt Annie’s travails. But while Wolfe is an engaging screen presence, the movie is too clumsy and clichéd to conjure tension. Virtually every sighting of the van is accompanied by a clashing-cymbals sound effect and camera angles that distractingly recall much better movies about malevolently motivated vehicles.
All of which makes “The Man in the White Van” feel both amateurish and derivative. Keeping the violence — and the villain — mainly in the shadows, the filmmakers build to a climax that’s frustratingly dumb and drawn-out. In the press notes, we learn that the movie is part of a “social impact campaign” to raise money for missing children. Hopefully the cash it raises will be greater than its chills.
The Man in the White Van
Rated PG-13 for a little blood and a lot of smoking. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. In theaters.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
