The chilling Netflix film is based on a true crime story
Netflix has released the trailer for its upcoming true crime movie which tells the story of a woman who went on a date with a serial killer after he’d won a gameshow.
It’s Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, while she also stars as Cheryl Bradshaw, the woman who finds herself sitting across the table from an actual serial killer.
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In the trailer for the film – titled Woman of the Hour – we can see Cheryl on a date with Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) with things really not going very well at all.
They’d met on gameshow The Dating Game and been put together, but Cheryl is getting very bad vibes from Rodney and clearly wants to get out of there, when he asks for another round of drinks she shakes her head at the bar while he’s looking away.
Later on outside the bar Rodney asks for her number which she says she’s already given him, but when he asks her to say it out loud it’s clear she’s given this creepy guy a fake number.
It’s Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut. (Netflix)
At this point you’re probably willing her to do a runner and get away from the weirdo, but of course Cheryl doesn’t realise exactly who the man she’s trying to escape from is.
The chilling true story behind Woman of the Hour is that Rodney Alcala was part-way through his murder spree as a serial killer when he appeared on The Dating Game.
By the time he’d appeared on TV he’d already raped and assaulted an eight-year-old girl and then raped and murdered a 23-year-old woman before being sent to prison for child molestation.
After being released he assaulted a 13-year-old girl and committed several other murders.
In 1978 he then appeared on The Dating Game show, where he was introduced as a photographer and ended up winning the episode he was on, which meant he was supposed to go on a date.
Daniel Zovatto plays serial killer Rodney Alcala. (Netflix)
After his TV appearance, Alcala would go on to commit at least three other murders.
Based on a true story, Woman of the Hour promises to focus on the serial killer’s victims and the lives he ended.
As well as director Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zovatto, the film also stars Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher and Kelly Jakle.
The real Rodney Alcalca ended up being arrested on 24 July, 1979 before going through several trials and being sentenced to death more than once.
In the end he would die of natural causes in 2021, 42 years to the day he was arrested.
