Movies about serial killers are not my usual choice.  There are those that will seek out a psychological thriller, but not this Catholic.  However, Woman of the Hour (2023) is directed by and stars Anna Kendrick, a person whose work I have enjoyed.  You also might find what I have said thus far to be misleading.  After all, statistically speaking, mass murderers tend to be men.  With such a title, this would not work if the focus of the film was on the person behind the deaths.  It makes more sense when you know that, also according to the numbers, most of the victims of these monsters are females.  Sadly, both of these awful norms turn out to be true in this piece based on real life events.  To know the outcome of this tense mixture without having to subject yourself to seeing it, keep reading.

The first Woman of the Hour is not the Cheryl Bradshaw that Anna Kendrick plays, but the first of a few victims we see die at the hands of Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto).  Indeed, interspersed throughout the proceedings are flashbacks, as well as flashforwards, of different murders Rodney commits.  As these are told out of sequence, I will simply put this here for context as I describe the rest in a more linear fashion, which is my preference.  The female focused on the most is Cheryl, who is trying to get her career as an actress started.  Following what looks to be another failed audition, she comes home to find her neighbor, Terry (Pete Holmes), waiting for her.  She is not exactly keen on his presence, but he refuses to pick up her cues to leave.  As such, they end up going out drinking, which leads to them being in bed together, all of which she chalks up to being out of practice since she does not often date.  Because of her slow social life, and her need for work, she accepts a spot on The Dating Game (1965-1974, 1978-1980, 1986-1989, 1996-1999, 2021).  It may be a gig, but with the unwanted advances from Terry and the regressive stereotypes surrounding the game show, she is not thrilled by the job.  They are reinforced when the host, Ed (Tony Hale), convinces the make-up artists to put her in a more revealing dress.  Once the production begins, she is introduced to the three potential suitors.  Bachelor #1 (Matt Visser) is dimwitted and has trouble keeping up with Cheryl’s questions.  Bachelor #2 (Jedidiah Goodacre) clearly only cares about physical intimacy.  The third contestant is Rodney.  The first round of queries, given to Cheryl on cue cards she holds in her hands, are full of demeaning things for a woman to say to a man.  She is saved by Laura (Nicolette Robinson).  She is in the studio audience, and as soon as Rodney is revealed, she becomes scared.  She had been friends with one of Rodney’s victims and recognizes the man from the night of the attack.  Her interruption as she flees from the sound stage, knocking over a monitor, gives Cheryl the chance to rewrite her material.  While the show continues, Laura attempts to meet with one of the producers to give her story, but they instead trot out a janitor.  A few days later, she finally goes to the police, but she receives the same treatment.  Meanwhile, because Rodney offers Cheryl the most intelligent answers, he is the one picked to go out on a date with her.  They are supposed to meet up at a town in California, but he suggests they get to know each other more immediately by going out to a bar near the lot.  During the course of their interaction, it becomes increasingly obvious that there is something off about him.  As she tries to leave, he asks for her phone number as preamble for the trip they won.  He claims he needs help deciphering her writing, but she offers none.  He then muses that they are not going anywhere together, and she agrees that she lacks any desire to do so.  She then starts for her car, but he shadows her to the door.  What saves her are studio workers walking out into the parking lot.  After this, it is little surprise that she decides to leave Los Angeles to return home.  As for Rodney, his story carries on after The Dating Game.  Though by this point we have already been introduced to her, the last female we see him with is Amy (Autumn Best).  She is a fifteen-year-old drifter.  Like others, she had been taken in by his complimenting her beauty and wanting to photograph her.  Taking her out to the desert, she is assaulted, physically and sexually.  Upon coming to, she awakens to a sobbing Rodney.  Comforting him, she convinces him to take her to his place.  Along the way, they stop for gas.  While he uses the facilities, she makes her escape.  Upon emerging from the bathroom, he is greeted by police sirens and she looks on as he is taken into custody.

If only the arrest at the end of Woman of the Hour is how it actually ended for the very real Rodney Alcala.  With movies that are based on true stories, I tend to do a little extra research on how closely they match with real life.  Unfortunately, while Amy, whose name is changed for the film, did survive her encounter with the serial killer, Alcala went on to claim at least two more victims, including a twelve-year-old girl.  I say “at least” because they are eight deaths officially linked to him.  There could be more.  One aspect I am not sure of as to its veracity is his preferred method for luring females to their deaths.  The film suggests that he appealed to female vanity, referring to them as beautiful and suggesting they could be models.  As a practicing Catholic, this is a particularly heinous act since it preys upon the fallen way in which society appreciates beauty.  God created a whole person, wonderful not simply at the level of the flesh.  The fact that a person like Alcala, as his acts are portrayed in the movie at any rate, can get women to listen to such rhetoric is proof of the way in which culture has indoctrinated us into prizing superficiality over our incredible natures inside and out.  Though Cheryl does not see this in spiritual terms, she is self-possessed enough to know her true value and see through the lies.  In this respect, I am not speaking to Rodney’s tactics because that would be denigrating the other victims.  Instead, what I am referring to is the whole system that she walks away from that would allow a creepy person like Rodney to be on a show.

By the way, I understand the irony behind a character like Cheryl, especially who it is played by, in Woman of the Hour. While I will grant that Kendrick is not as bad as most, she is still part of the Hollywood system that perpetuates too many wrong ideas about women.  People like Alcala fed on these misconceptions, sadly.  As such, while I want to recommend Kendrick’s directorial debut, I would steer clear of this one.