*Warning: Contains spoilers for Woman of the Hour*
Netflix’s latest release is a must watch for true crime fans as it retells just some of the horrendous crimes committed by Rodney Alcala.
In the film, Alcala goes on a US game show while he was in the middle of a killing spree. This storyline is based on unlikely true events with Anna Kendrick taking on the role of Cheryl, the bachelorette who unwittingly accepted a date from a serial killer.
Events, including the unsettling final scene are all based on murders and assaults actually committed by Alcala who would go on to be known as The Dating Game Killer.
But what exactly happens in the ending of Woman of the Hour? How much of it is true and what really happened after the credits roll? Here’s everything you need to know.
We are introduced to the character of ‘Amy’ played by Autumn Best relatively early in the film, with the end of her journey serving as the film’s climax. She is seen sleeping rough, stealing change from a laundromat and it isn’t long before she meets Daniel Zovatto’s Rodney.
Approximately three quarters of the way through the film, Rodney has convinced her to allow him to take pictures of her and they drive to a secluded spot.
The location and scenario is disturbingly similar to the film’s opening scene. By the final moments of the film, Amy has been viciously assaulted both physically and sexually with her jeans left round her ankles in a chilling image.
While the credits state her name is Amy, the character is actually based on Monique Hoyt.
Hoyt was a 15-year-old hitchhiker who was picked up by Alcala in 1979, the year after he appeared on The Dating Game.
In real life, he took her to his apartment where he raped her before taking her to a secluded mountainous area and attacking her again, hitting her in the head with a rock. She really did manage to escape after Alcala went into a gas station bathroom as seen in the film and managed to report what happened to her to the police.
However, the film ends with police swarming Rodney’s location and throwing him to the ground to arrest him. It is not known where he was arrested but it’s not believed to have happened that quickly.
The film then ends with text on the screen that confirms the killer was back on the streets shortly afterwards. The detail it misses out is that it was his mother who posted his bail.
The film’s final image is a haunting one, as ‘Amy’ who is one of only a small few of Alcala’s victims who survived, takes a sudden breath
While the credits then, Alcala’s sordid deeds were far from over. He killed at least two more times following the events seen in the final scene.
First was Jill Marie Parenteau, 21, in June 1979 who the night after attending a baseball game didn’t show up for work. Her body was found in her apartment and Alcala cut himself crawling through a window.
A week later Alcala killed 12-year-old Robin Samsoe who disappeared while on her way home riding a borrowed bicycle from her ballet class. Her body was found 12 days after the attack in the Los Angeles foothills. She had been beaten and stabbed. Samsoe’s friends told police a stranger approached them offering to take pictures before she vanished.
A sketch was produced and Alcala’s parole officer recognised him. This time, he was arrested and held without bail. Alcala would eventually receive three death sentences for his crimes in 1980, 1986 and in 2010.
Woman of the Hour is available to stream now on Netflix
This post was originally published on here
