When it comes to molding atrue-crime story into any sort of television or film adaptation, it must be done with the utmostrespect and care for the victims and their families. Too often it seems like the media puts the killer at the center of the story, which is understandable as it feeds into our natural incline towards a morbid curiosity. But there’s a very fine line between glorifying the monsters who commit such atrocious crimes and demonizing them — a delicate balance that often tilts too far in the former’s direction.
Those searching for a true-crime story that leans further into the latter should look no further than toWarren Skeels’ (Siesta Key) upcoming film,The Man in the White Van. From the title alone, you can likely surmise that this will be a production about some sort of killing or kidnapping - and you’d be totally correct. Set in Florida in 1974, a young woman finds herself the target of a stranger in a white van who stalks her for weeks before making his sinister move. Instead ofstudying into the background of the killer, looking into his childhood, ortrying to get inside his psyche, Skeels and his creative team chose to essentially remove the man from the film entirely — showing only his silhouette and keeping the attention focused on his victims.
During a Collider Studio atSan Diego Comic-Conled byTherese Lacson, Skeels broke down his decision to keep the audience as far away from the perpetrator as possible, explaining,
“There’s two parts to it. We’ve never set out to make a slasher or a gore fest of a film. I think from a creative standpoint, theater of the mind, to me, is really what’s on point here, and something I really wanted to explore. I find it a little more scary when you don’t really know exactly what’s going on. From a victim standpoint, we made the decision thatwe really didn’t want to glorify the serial killerin this. We didn’t really want to get into naming him.We didn’t want to show his face.
We really justwanted 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 and a protagonist and the victim 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.”
Who’s In ‘The Man in the White Van’
Last October, we shared anexclusive sneak peekthat gave our readers an idea of the horrifying story that’s set to arrive in cinemas on October 11. The movie features a call sheet that includesMadison Wolfe(The Conjuring 2),Sean Astin(The Lord of the Ringstrilogy),Brec Bassinger(Stargirl),Ali Larter(Final Destination),Skai Jackson(Bunk’d), and more.
Stay tuned to Collider for more coverage from SDCC and future announcements aboutThe Man in the White Van.
