Who was serial killer Rodney Alcala and what was the dating game?

A new Netflix film dramatizes the true story of a serial killer who appeared on a television dating show in the midst of his crimes.

“Woman of the Hour” by Anna Kendrick depicts the crimes of Rodney Alcala, who became known as the “Dating Game Killer.”

Alcala appeared as a bachelor on the Blind Date show in 1978, two years before he was convicted of murdering a 12-year-old girl.

He was eventually found guilty of a total of eight murders, but is believed to have killed many more women and girls. Alcala died in prison in 2021.

Rodney Alcala was a serial killer and sex offender who was convicted of eight murders in New York, California and Wyoming between 1971 and 1979.

However, he is suspected of murder more than 100 women and girls.

Alcala posed as a fashion photographer and often targeted women by complimenting them and then asking to take photos of them.

In 1980, Alcala was sentenced to death in California for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.

His conviction was later overturned by the California Supreme Court and he was granted a new trial. In the second trial in 1986 he received the same sentence, but this was also overturned in 2003.

In subsequent years, investigators discovered forensic evidence that linked Alcala to other murders in California.

In a new trial in 2010, he was found guilty of killing Samsoe and four other women between the ages of 18 and 32 between 1977 and 1979.

In 1994, while in prison, Alcala wrote a book entitled You, the Jury (1994), in which he maintained his innocence.

In 2012, Alcala was extradited to New York after being accused of two additional murders in 1971 and 1977. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in New York.

In 2016, he was charged with the 1977 murder of Christine Ruth Thornton, a woman investigators identified in one of his photos.

Alcala died of natural causes in 2021 at the age of 77 at a hospital near Corcoran State Prison in California.

Due to his television appearance in the midst of his murders, Alcala subsequently became known as the “Dating Game Killer.”

In September 1978, Alcala had taken part in The Dating Game, a US television show similar in format to the British Blind Date.

On the show, a single woman asked questions of three potential partners who could be seen by the audience but not by her.

The show would end with the woman choosing one of the previous men based on her answers.

It is thought Alcala was chosen because He was tall, handsome and charming, and the producers didn't do a background check.

In the episode in which he appeared, Alcala was chosen by Cheryl Bradshaw at the end of the show.

But Bradshaw later said she decided not to continue the date after having a conversation with him backstage in which she thought he was “creepy.” The decision probably saved her life.

The original episode of “The Dating Game” with Bradshaw and Alcala no longer exists in its entirety – only excerpts from it are available online.

“Woman of the Hour” begins in 1977 with Alcala encouraging a woman named Sarah to reveal details of her private life while he photographs her in a remote mountainous region of Wyoming.

Things take a sinister turn when Alcala suddenly turns evil and starts attacking her, which sets the stage for the way he exploits several of the women he encounters for the rest of the film.

The film's timeline jumps back and forth as the viewer follows a few different storylines, each focusing on a different woman.

The murders themselves are not shown on screen. Instead, the film focuses on Alcala's first encounters with the women and the moments that led to the murders.

A significant portion of the film focuses on the day the episode of “The Dating Game” was filmed.

In addition to directing the film, Kendrick also plays Bradshaw – the woman who appeared alongside Alcala on the dating show.

Although the film is based on real cases, it requires a certain artistic freedom. For example, Bradshaw is seen going against the dating show host's wishes by going off script and asking the bachelors her own questions, giving the film a more feminist aspect than was the case in reality.

The date between Bradshaw and Alcala is also a fabrication. In reality, they never managed to go on a date, but the film imagines their trip to a bar and a subsequent altercation in the parking lot.

One of Alcala's victims, Monique Hoyt, escaped after an attack – and her story is one of the stories featured in the film.

Fifteen-year-old Hoyt was posing for photographs in a remote mountainous area in February 1979 when Alcala beat her unconscious and sexually assaulted her.

When she came to, Hoyt was aware that she had been raped, but in an attempt to escape, she convinced Alcala that she was not angry and wanted to have a relationship with him.

The two returned to his car and continued driving. When Alcala stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom, Hoyt fled from his car and raised the alarm.

The film shows the woman, named Amy in the film, seeking refuge in a nearby restaurant until the police arrive and arrest him. However, although Hoyt escaped, Alcala was actually released soon afterward when his mother posted his bail.

Anna Kendrick was initially scheduled to produce and star in the film, but later signed on as director as well. In press materials for the film, the 39-year-old said she knew this would be a surprising decision for some.

She is probably best known for her appearances in Pitch perfect film series and comedy-drama Up in the Air, which earned her an Oscar nomination, as well as her appearances in the Twilight films.

“I can understand why a movie that starts with a violent act doesn't really seem like it's in my wheelhouse,” she admitted.

“But I feel like I've had experiences where I can relate to being with another person and suddenly realizing that you're with someone who is deeply insecure.”

Of the project as a whole, she said, “I think the story itself is so compelling because of the idea of ​​this dangerous and violent man starring in a show like The Dating Game, which is about choosing a good guy.” won. It's just weirdly perverse.

When asked about her attitude towards depicting violence, she said: “Generally my approach has been that things that are beautiful should be beautiful and things that are terrible should be terrible.”

“Yet the violence in the film is rarely literal or explicit. I wanted to move away from the violence without disinfecting it.”

“Woman of the Hour” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, but Kendrick and the cast were unable to attend or promote the film at the time due to ongoing strikes in Hollywood.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with some saying that Kendrick showed promise as a director.

“Kendrick's image as an actress isn't necessarily tied to dark, edgy material, but as a director, along with her trademark wit, she demonstrates a talent for staging scenes with Hitchcockian tension.” said Katie Rife of IndieWire.

Screen Rant's Patrice Witherspoon did it less enthusiastic, suggesting that the film is “hampered by tonal imbalances and poor editing.”

But said Benjamin Lee of the Guardian Kendrick “makes a compelling debut filmmaker who captures the feeling of a time and multiple places with ease.”

In a genre where “the blood and grit of serial killers can be overly fetishized,” he continued, “the deaths are hard to watch without being explicit, restrained without sacrificing the necessary shock value.”

The Hollywood Reporter's Lovia Gyarkye concluded: “Despite Woman of the Hour’s sometimes shaky execution, its story is undeniably powerful.”