Anna Kendrick has bagged the number one spot on Netflix with her debut in the world of horror, Woman of the Hour, a true story based on the 1970s infamous serial killer Rodney Alcala.
The film explores protagonist Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress who is offered a spot on the Dating Game. Subsequently she meets serial killer Rodney Alcala and ends up choosing him for a date.
Alcala’s appearance on the popular televised dating show in 1978 was amidst his killing spree of multiple women and girls, and only a year before his first arrest.
The Real-Life Inspiration
The Dating Game was an American dating show that aired from the 1960s to the 1980s. A female contestant was chosen, and had to blind-select an eligible bachelor via a series of questions and challenges to meet her match.
Although police are not aware of the full scale of Alcala’s crimes, the convicted killer was charged with the murder of eight women between 1971 and 1979. However, authorities believe the Rodney could have killed up to 130 women. The killer died in prison in 2021 at age 77.
Born in Texas in 1943, Rodney Alcala had a seemingly normal childhood achieving high grades throughout his education and attending private schools. This was until his enrolment in the US Army at age 17, Alcala suffered several mental health episodes and was subsequently diagnosed with a severe personality disorder.
Anna Kendrick as a Director
Making her director debut in Woman of the Hour, Kendrick stars in and directs this female-focused film. Known for her iconic roles in Twilight, Pitch Perfect and A Simple Favour, Kendrick has begun to embrace projects meaningful to her in a director role. In an interview with Variety, Kendrick expressed her feelings going into the movie.
“Every moment of the movie is kind of a reflection of my own terror,” she says. “I don’t think it’s an accident that I responded to this script at a time when I’d just been through something really devastating and traumatic and that really changed my worldview.”
Social Commentary in Woman of the Hour
Given Netflix’s history of fictionalising serial killers in previous series (Monsters: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story). Woman of the Hour flips the usual focus on the sensationalised perpetrator of the crime, onto the underrepresented experience of the female victim.
Woman of the Hour tackles the threatening themes that shape women’s lives. Kate Cantrell from The Conversation encapsulates the real ‘horror’ that Anna Kendrick captures with this breakout debut.
“There are no cowering or moaning victims shown in various stages of undress. Instead, we see, through careful framing and close-up shots, the panicked discomfort of Alcala’s victims as they navigate the dangers of dating, the damaging effects of casual misogyny and the ever-present threat of male fragility.”
Woman of the Hour is also representative of a recent rise in the number of female-centred and feminist-colored horror films. Despite a history of surveillance and the male gaze thrust upon typical female victims. Horror and thriller films such as The Substance, Ready or Not and Don’t Worry Darling, are examining the female experience and the real ‘horror’ that infiltrates women’s lives.
Profits and Success
Reaching number one on Netflix and becoming instantly acclaimed amongst fans and critics. Anna Kendrick felt compelled to donate all profits from the film to several women’s charities. Claiming she felt ‘gross’ profiting from the tragic reality of violence against women.
After years of glorified depictions of serial killers and violence against women. Kendrick made a bold statement with Woman of the Hour and offered viewers an insight into the very real horror of violence, that women face daily.
