By MICHAEL GINGOLD
It’s based on the serial killer who made the titular vehicle a figure of fear.
THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN will have its world premiere Saturday, October 14 at the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival, with a second showing Thursday, October 19 (tickets can be purchased here). It was directed and produced by feature first-timer Warren Skeels from a script by Sharon Y. Cobb and Skeels. Madison Wolfe (THE CONJURING 2, MALIGNANT), Brec Bassinger, Skai Jackson, Ali Larter (RESIDENT EVIL franchise) and Sean Astin (STRANGER THINGS). The synopsis: “THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN delves into the eerie underbelly of a seemingly idyllic 1974 Florida town, and follows the harrowing experience of young Annie Williams [Wolfe], a spirited girl whose carefree existence is turned upside down as she becomes stalked by an ominous man in a white van. The tranquility of Annie’s world, from her love of horseback riding to her leisurely strolls home from school in the nearby woods, begins to crumble as the menacing white van inches closer and closer. As her parents’ skepticism increasingly grows, Annie finds herself psychologically isolated, and on Halloween night her worst fears materialize into a full-blown nightmare as she gets abducted.”
“THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN is a tense true-crime thriller about the victims of Billy Mansfield Jr., the man responsible for creating so much terror in the ’70s and ’80s and the primary reason why every parent, even today, warns their children to stay away from white vans,” say the producers in a statement. “Our storytelling is unique. Unlike many other movies about serial killers, we neither glorify nor celebrate the killer… Our film is not about the killer; it is about the victims, and their trauma and story is told from their point of view.” Check out a behind-the-scenes teaser below.
