The Man in the White Van: Painfully slow build-up leads to a riveting final act

The latest addition to the serial killer thriller genre is a compelling, albeit slow-paced, film titled The Man in the White Van. Like many films within this subgenre, The Man in the White Van is based on the real crimes committed by serial killer Billy Mansfield Jr., who is currently serving multiple life sentences behind bars in Florida, though the characters in the movie are all fictional.

Filmmaker Warren Skeels is a Jacksonville native, where Mansfield Jr. committed his crimes. He co-wrote the script with Sharon Cobb. Speaking with Jax Today, the director said he was heavily inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window.

Set in the 1970s during Mansfield Jr.'s killing spree, The Man in the White Van does feel Hitchcockian in parts. Unfortunately, the film takes too long to get going, and when it does ultimately reach its climax, it falls into many common trope-y pitfalls.

The film shines best when it's playing out more like a nostalgic coming-of-age story centered on its main characters, sisters Annie (Madison Wolfe) and Margaret (Brec Bassinger). There is an undeniable charm to the movie's most '70s elements, of being a teen in that era when the world was rife with danger, and you couldn't use a cell phone to call for help. But then it's equally unsettling that many themes in this movie resonate today.

Maybe it's less likely for a man in a white van to kidnap a young girl on the side of the road, but almost every woman living in America has a story about being stalked, harassed, or threatened by a strange man in a public place. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.

Annie is your typical rebellious teen who regularly fights with her more traditional and conservative sister and mother (Ali Larter). They have a hard time believing her when she starts claiming that a van has been sitting outside of their house and following her around because Annie has a penchant for telling tall tales.

The Man in the White Van is definitely more of a thriller than a horror film, as it is very restrained and really adheres to its PG-13 label. When we're actually focused on the character of Annie and her real fears, the movie is as chilling, suspenseful, and riveting as one could want in a film like this. But it has a bad habit of jumping back and forth in its timeline to highlight the killer's previous murders to the point of redundancy. We get it. This guy is kidnapping and murdering girls. Now, let's stop with the flashbacks and get back to the story we're actively invested in.

Anyone looking for a dose of nostalgia and a decent movie to watch on a weekend night will find an option here. It's not the strongest or most memorable thriller, but when the film finally hits its stride in the final act, it's absolutely gripping.

The Man in the White Van is now playing in select theaters.