Unbelievable true story behind Woman of the Hour – Netflix’s most chilling film yet

An upcoming Netflix film is based on an unbelievable true story involving a series of gruesome crimes.

Woman of the Hour sees Anna Kendrick take on the role of a dating show contestant who crossed paths with a notorious serial killer on the set of the show in 1978. Rodney Alcala’s appearance on the show would eventually lead to him being referred to as The Dating Game killer.

This also marks the first time the Pitch Perfect star is in the directors chair in addition to performing in front of the camera.

Kendrick’s work has already received praise after the film was screened at festivals, including a premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.

She was named winner of the Directors to Watch category at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the film already has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of its release in October.

Kendrick takes on the role of Cheryl Bradshaw, a drama teacher who signed up to participate in The Dating Game and chooses to go on a date with Rodney.

The Dating Game was a popular game show in the US, originally airing in the States from 1965.

Similar to Blind Date in the UK, the show would see a bachelorette ask a series of questions to three bachelors, who would be hidden from her view and she would eventually choose one to accompany her on a date.

The show ran through the 1970s and 1980s and enjoyed a revival in the late 1990s where it experimented with the format.

A celebrity version was devised in 2021 with New Girl actress Zooey Deschanel and singer Michael Bolton as hosts but was cancelled just a year later.

During the show’s original run, a number of well known contestants appeared on the show, usually before they became famous for something else.

That includes actors Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds and Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Comedian Steve Martin also appeared on the show before finding fame.

Another notable appearance, and the subject of Kendrick’s film was Rodney Alcala (played in the film by Daniel Zovatto). Alcala appeared on the show in 1978 and won a date with Cheryl.

What wasn’t known by the showrunners or audiences watching at home was that Alcala had claimed the lives of five women before charming the bachelorette.

They also didn’t know that he had served time for sexually and physically assaulting an eight-year-old girl.

He was introduced on the show by the host Jim Lange (portrayed in the film by Arrested Development star Tony Hale) as a “successful photographer” who enjoyed sky diving.

A fellow contestant would later describe him as a “very strange guy” with “bizarre opinions”.

Executive producer Mike Metzger was wary of Alcala, telling ABC’s 20/20: “No darn way was this guy going to be on my show, because I thought he had a strange personality. He had a mystique about him that I found uncomfortable.”

But Metzger’s wife and talent coordinator Ellen was convinced to cast him. By the time Alcala took his seat for The Dating Game, he had lured fiver women to his home promising them a photoshoot but instead proceeded to beat, rape and strangle them.

Alcala raped and killed three more women following his Dating Game appearance including 12-year-old Robin Samsoe in Los Angeles in 1979.

He would eventually receive three death sentences for his crimes in 1980, 1986 and in 2010. While we are yet to see how the film portrays events, not much is known about the real Cheryl Bradshaw.

She reportedly changed her mind after filming the show and refused to go on the actual date with Alcala as she found him “creepy”.

Ellen Metzger recalled: “She said, ‘Ellen, I can’t go out with this guy. There’s weird vibes that are coming off of him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?’ And of course, I said, ‘No.’”

Disturbingly, the case of Alcala continued on for decades after his infamous appearance on The Dating Game.

In March 2010, Huntington Beach police released more than 100 photographs found within a storage unit belonging to Alcala, many of them portraying young women in suggestive poses, according to CBS news.

Detectives appealed to the public for help in identifying the individuals in the photos, for fear of learning about more victims.

Investigators across the United States have linked Alcala to murders in Los Angeles and Marin County in California; Seattle, Washington; New York; New Hampshire and Arizona.

There are eight victims of Alcala confirmed but it is reported that the real number could be as high as 130. Alcala died in 2021, aged 77 of natural causes while awaiting execution.

Woman of the Hour is available from Friday, October 18 on Netflix.

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