Director – Thor Moreno (Schism, Burn)
Starring – Adam Meirick (Die Again Tomorrow, The Man in the Woods) and Kelsey Anne Osborne (Mortal Poker, California Dream)
Release Date – 2026
Rating – 2/5
I’m on the fence about found footage flicks. Most of them, and I mean that, bore the absolute shit out of me. The dialogue is so fucking awkward, the stories usually lead nowhere, and it’s hard to tell what is going on due to the shaky camera work. I understand that the goal is to make these feel as authentic as possible but the more authentic it is means the more difficult it is for me to finish. There is a few exceptions to this but the ones I did like can be counted on one hand.
A few weeks ago I was asked to review the found footage flick Van Life. The title really peaked my interest but the AI made artwork for the film didn’t do much for my imagination. Regardless, the title pulled me in and I agreed to check it out. I want to thank Damon Moreno for reaching out!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a man who is heading out into the woods to find his missing friend. She has been missing for sometime now and the only thing recovered was her phone. She was an aspiring vlogger wanting to create content while living in her van. Using his camera and her last known location, he sets out to find her before succumbing to the same fate she suffered. **Spoiler Alert**
I absolutely hate writing a negative review but I’m always honest. I always try to be respectful but I can’t like every movie sent my way for review. The movies may have some things I enjoy but not every movie is for me nor am I the intended audience. Van Life has a solid, yet small, cast but the story and atmosphere just didn’t do it for me. As I said earlier, I hate writing negative reviews and I wanted to like it but couldn’t.
The acting in this one is my favorite part of the film. The cast is acting alone while narrating their actions for their vlogs. The dialogue is awkward but that comes with the territory.
The story for this one is one that we’ve seen several times before especially in a found footage film. Here we follow someone looking for a missing friend only to find themselves facing the same horrors that the missing had. Most recently, I reviewed the Horror in the High Desert film which followed a similar story. It’s not that original and what makes this one a tough one to sit through is that it feels like two separate films. The first portion is the friend looking for her and the second is the video from the phone. We shouldn’t have both aspects playing out like that. It’s almost as if we watched a sequel and followed it up with the original film. The movie would have flowed a lot better if we just followed the young man for a few moments before we watch the found footage before moving back to him looking for her. It would have made the pacing way more enjoyable and didn’t give away the stuff that happened to her before it’s time.
Finally, don’t expect to see a bloody mess. The movie doesn’t have a high body count or a lot of the red stuff. We get a little blood smeared on the actresses face but that is the extent of it. Overall, Van Life was not for me. It doesn’t have the atmosphere and tension that most found footage films are known for. While I did enjoy the acting, the repetitive story and lack of memorable deaths made this one a tough one to finish. If you dig found footage then you may enjoy it but if you are like me then you may want to skip it.
