A new Netflix movie tells the true story of a serial killer who appeared on a TV dating show while committing his crimes.
Woman of the Hour, directed by Anna Kendrick, depicts the crimes of Rodney Alcala, known as the “Dating Game Killer.”
Alcala appeared as a bachelor on a blind date-style show in 1978, two years before he was convicted of the murder of a 12-year-old girl.
He was ultimately found guilty of a total of eight murders, but is believed to have killed many more women and girls. Alcala died in prison in 2021.
Who was Rodney Alcala?
Rodney Alcala pictured at his sentencing in 2010 (Getty Images)
Rodney Alcala was a serial killer and sex offender found guilty of eight murders in New York, California and Wyoming between 1971 and 1979.
However, he is suspected of killing over 100 women and girls.
Posing as a fashion photographer, Alcala often targeted women, complimenting them and then asking to take photos of them.
In 1980, Alcala was sentenced to death in California for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.
His conviction was later overturned by the California Supreme Court and he was granted a new trial. He received the same sentence in a second trial in 1986, but it was overturned in 2003.
In the following years, investigators uncovered evidence linking Alcala to other murders in California.
At a new trial in 2010, he was found guilty of killing Samsoe and four other women aged 18 to 32 between 1977 and 1979.
In 1994, while in custody, Alcala wrote a book titled You, the Jury (1994), in which he claimed his innocence.
In 2012, Alcala was extradited to New York after being charged with two more murders from 1971 and 1977. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in New York to 25 years to life.
In 2016, he was charged with the 1977 murder of Christine Ruth Thornton, a woman investigators identified in one of the photos.
Alcala died of natural causes in 2021 at the age of 77 at a hospital near Corcoran State Prison in California.
What dating show did he appear on?
The dating game resembles the format of Blind Date in the UK (Netflix)
Alcala became retrospectively known as the Dating Game Killer due to his television appearance during his killings.
In September 1978, Alcala took part in The Dating Game, an American television program similar in format to the British Blind Date.
On the show, a single woman asked questions to three potential partners who were seen by the audience but not her.
The program ended with the woman choosing one of the existing men based on their responses.
It is believed that Alcala was chosen because he was tall, handsome and charming, and the producers did not conduct a background check.
In the episode in which he appeared, Alcala was chosen by Cheryl Bradshaw at the end of the show.
But Bradshaw later said she decided not to continue the date after talking to him backstage, during which she found him “creepy.” This decision probably saved her life.
The original episode of The Dating Game with Bradshaw and Alcala no longer exists in its entirety – only fragments are available online.
How is he portrayed in the new film?
Alcala posed as a fashion photographer and asked women if he could take photos of them (Netflix)
The Woman of the Hour begins in 1977 with Alcala encouraging a woman named Sarah to reveal details of her personal life while photographing her in a remote mountain region of Wyoming.
Things take a turn for the worse when Alcala suddenly turns nasty and starts attacking her, setting the tone for how he preys on several of the women he encounters throughout the rest of the film.
The film’s timeline jumps around as the viewer follows several different storylines, each focusing on a different woman.
The murders themselves are not shown on screen. Instead, the film focuses on Alcala’s first encounters with the women and the moments leading up to the killings.
A large portion of the film takes up the day an episode of The Dating Game was filmed.
In addition to directing the film, Kendrick plays Bradshaw, a woman who appeared on the dating show alongside Alcala.
Although the film is based on real cases, it requires artistic license. For example, Bradshaw goes against the wishes of the dating show host by going off script and asking the bachelors his own questions, giving the film a more feminist angle than it actually had.
Bradshaw and Alcala’s date is also an invention. They never actually made it to their date, but the film imagines their trip to the bar and subsequent argument in the parking lot.
Who was Monique Hoyt?
One of Alcala’s victims, Monique Hoyt, managed to escape after the attack – and her story is one of the stories featured in the film.
In February 1979, Hoyt, aged 15, was posing for photos in an isolated mountainous area when Alcala knocked her unconscious and sexually assaulted her.
When she came to, Hoyt was aware that she had been raped, but in an attempt to escape, she convinced Alcala that she was not evil and wanted to pursue a relationship with him.
They both returned to his car and drove away. When Alcala stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom, Hoyt ran out of the car and raised the alarm.
The video shows a woman named Amy hiding in a nearby restaurant until the police arrive and arrest him. Although Hoyt managed to escape, Alcala was actually released shortly thereafter when his mother posted bail.
What did Anna Kendrick say?
Several critics have suggested that Kendrick, primarily an actress, is a promising director (Netflix)
Anna Kendrick was initially supposed to be the producer and star of the film, but later became the director as well. In press materials for the film, the 39-year-old said she knew it would be a surprising choice for some.
She is probably best known for her appearances in the TV series Pitch Perfect and the comedy-drama Up in the Air, for which she received an Oscar nomination, as well as her appearances in the Twilight films.
“I understand why a movie that opens with an act of violence doesn’t feel like it’s right out of my wheelhouse,” she admitted.
“But I feel like I’ve had experiences where I can identify with being with another person and suddenly find out that you’re with someone who’s very dangerous.”
Speaking about the project as a whole, she said: “I think the story itself is so fascinating because of the idea that this dangerous and violent man went on a show like The Dating Game where the goal is to pick a good guy, and he won. It’s just hilariously perverse.
When asked about her attitude towards depictions of violence, she replied: “Generally speaking, my attitude was that things that are beautiful should be beautiful, and things that are terrible should be terrible.
“Yet violence in film is rarely literal or explicit. I wanted to remove violence without purifying it.”
Woman of the Hour premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, but Kendrick and the cast were unable to attend or promote the film at the time due to ongoing strikes in Hollywood.
What did critics say about the film?
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with some saying Kendrick is an up-and-coming director.
“Kendrick’s image as an actress isn’t necessarily tied to dark, edgy material, but as a director she demonstrates a talent for staging Hitchcockian suspense scenes as well as her trademark wit,” said IndieWire’s Katie Rife.
Patrice Witherspoon of Screen Rant was less enthusiastic, suggesting that the film was “hindered by a tonal imbalance and poor editing”.
However, The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee said Kendrick “is a compelling filmmaker making his film debut, effortlessly capturing the atmosphere of a time and many places.”
In a genre where “the gore and grunt of serial killers can become overly fetishized,” he continued, “it’s hard to watch death without overtness, without sacrificing the necessary shock value.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye concluded, “Despite the Woman of the Hour’s sometimes shaky execution, her story is undeniably powerful.”
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