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Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour marks her directorial debut, diving into the real-life story of Rodney Alcala, the infamous serial killer dubbed as the Dating Game Killer. Released on Netflix on October 18, 2024, the film had previously premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024.
Despite the hype surrounding Anna Kendrick's first project as a director, the movie has faced considerable backlash online. Audiences have called the premise "boring and over-saturated", pointing out that the film fails to bring anything new or insightful to the true crime genre.
"Boring & over saturated premise. This would've done better in 1997, commented one Reddit user.
Many argued that while the story of Alcala's appearance on The Dating Game in 1978 is shocking, Anna Kendrick rather made the movie plot focus on her more. Here's what the Reddit users had to say:
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"This serial killer spanned a decade plus in his actions. The movie needed to be a 3 part mini series at least to take the gravity of what he did more seriously. Reviewers are afraid to step on the toes of Kendrick’s directorial debut but I don’t think they are mutually exclusive," commented one Reddit user.
"Man this could’ve been executed way better. This seemed like a great premise for a film, but the game show felt like a side note when the movie was advertised as if it would’ve revolved around the show. I’m confused as to why the story revolves around Anna Kendrick as I don’t think her trouble finding acting gigs in LA," another Reddit user observed.
"Anna Kendrick took a story of a decade long serial killer and made it about herself on a game show, and a couple minutes of other victims. The most information given was in the text at the end of the movie. Garbage. BTW The movie was already made once before called Dating Game Killer," a Reddit user argued.
Other Reddit users continued to criticize the redundancy of Woman of the Hour.
"Ah yes, the over saturated premise of checks notes real life serial killer Rodney Alcala stalking women through a game show. They drop a movie about this specific man every other Tuesday, don't they?," commented one Reddit user.
"Yeah I’ve seen waaaaaaaay too many serial killer appearing on dating show films recently. Oh for the heady days of 1997," wrote another Reddit user.
What is Woman of the Hour about?
Woman of the Hour is a 2024 true crime thriller directed by Anna Kendrick. It is based on the real-life events surrounding serial killer Rodney Alcala. In 1978, Alcala appeared as a contestant on the television show The Dating Game while amid his killing spree.
The film centers on Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Kendrick), an unsuspecting bachelorette who chose Alcala as her date through a TV show. The film explores the chilling juxtaposition of Alcala’s public persona as a charming bachelor against his gruesome reality as a murderer.
By focusing on the events that transpired during and after the game show, Woman of the Hour delves into the dark, often overlooked intersection of media and crime. It highlights the shocking fact that Alcala's criminal background was unknown to producers, and his TV appearance came at a time when he had already committed several murders.
Interested viewers can watch Woman of the Hour on Netflix.
