Vague Visages’ The Man in the White Van review contains minor spoilers. Warren Skeels’ 2023 movie on Amazon features Madison Wolfe, Brec Bassinger and Ali Larter. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.

A PG-13 thriller like The Man in the White Van needs a strong lead performance and polished direction to overcome its limitations. Fortunately, filmmaker Warren Skeels and rising star Madison Wolfe mostly bring the goods in their story about an American serial killer who targets young women during the early 1970s. Set in Brooksville, Florida and based on true events, the 105-minute production looks like a typical 70s flick with its saturated color palette, and feels inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho, evidenced by a steady amount of implied gore. But like so many average thrillers, The Man in the White Van commits more to narrative structure than a singular message that will keep audiences thinking after the fact.

The aforementioned Wolfe (an Amanda Seyfried look-alike) headlines The Man in the White Van as Annie, a 15-year-old girl who cares more about her horse Rebel than matching the glamorous looks of her slightly older sister, Margaret (Brec Bassinger). She’s the daughter of a successful business man (Sean Astin as Richard Williams) and a former beauty queen (Ali Larter as Helen Williams); a girl who thanks the Lord for rock groups like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers Band. And since Annie is somewhat of a loner, her family members believe that she exaggerates life experiences for attention, such as a when the unidentified driver of a mysterious white van flashes headlights at her. From the audience’s perspective, the protagonist should indeed be worried, as Skeels includes a series of flashback sequences in which a predator targets young women. The director builds suspense via composer Scott Thomas Borland’s pounding score, and also through dramatic interstitial graphics that identify the year of each crime, starting with 1970 and building to the present timeline. The problem, however, is that these brief segments don’t add much to the film, aside from spotlighting up-and-coming actresses in minor roles (Ryan Whitney as Young Mother, Brighton Sharbino as Swimmer). Plus, the flashbacks disrupt the overall flow as Annie becomes increasingly paranoid about her surroundings.

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Script-wise, Skeels’ narrative logic (in collaboration with co-writer Sharon Y. Cobb) makes sense. When Annie fires a gun at the white van in question, her father rightfully calls her out. Similarly, her best friend Patty (Skai Jackson) wonders what all the fuss is about, especially when Wolfe’s protagonist could invest more time in developing a relationship with a classmate named Mark (Noah Lomax) — a fellow rock and roll fan who just moved to Brooksville. In the lead role, Wolfe exudes an impressive amount of star potential, yet the script doesn’t afford her any big acting moments as Annie’s mental health declines. During a first watch, I was personally hoping for a do-or-die moment, one that would allow the lead to channel various emotions, and also build to a kick-ass needle-drop sequence. But that vibe shift never happens. For what it’s worth, The Man in the White Van features an excellent soundtrack, which — in terms of a cinematic experience — occasionally allows viewers to forget about the thin character sketches.

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It’s too bad that Larter’s Helen and Astin’s Richard were reduced to archetypes, along with a Cool Girl named Joanna (Addison Riecke). There’s a load of talent in The Man in the White Van’s cast, but Skeels focuses more on the nuts and bolts of his structural approach than character development. Here’s a good example of a missed opportunity: when Annie finally experiences a first kiss with Mark before her 16th birthday, she subsequently hops on a horse and carries on with her friend as if nothing happened. Sure, they chat a bit about the smooch, but it’s not necessarily a jaw-dropping moment for Wolfe’s protagonist. On top of that, Mark’s hairstyle matches that of the unidentified killer, and so Skeels could’ve elevated the suspense by lightly suggesting that Annie’s love interest could indeed be the villain.

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In the 2025 documentary The Zodiac Killer Project, director Charlie Shackleton makes a sharp observation about gory true crime productions that end with a photo line-up of the real-life victims. He describes this approach as “sudden moral righteousness.” While The Man in the White Van is somewhat tame with its PG-13 rating and implied gore, the film does indeed conclude with a moral exclamation point via an original live performance song during the credits (“Hope Is Why We’re Here) that benefits the The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It’s an honorable thing to do, but this post-movie moment — which includes a long list of missing children — feels a bit off when compared to The Man in the White Van’s overall tone. In addition, the final act doesn’t build to some type of permanent closure for Annie, nor does Skeels offer a pointed social commentary about the gaslighting of teenage girls who repeatedly ask for help while worrying about their safety.

The Man in the White Van released digitally on September 29, 2025 via Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.

Q.V. Hough (@QVHough) is Vague Visages’ founding editor. Thank you for reading film criticism, movie reviews and film essays at Vague Visages.

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