In the horrific annals of serial killers in America, the tragedies are sometimes compounded even further when we learn the monster had been in the grasp of authorities and/or was hiding in plain sight — but avoided prosecution and went on to murder additional victims.
Ted Bundy escaped from prison twice, the second time making his way to Florida and murdering at least two women. John Wayne Gacy had a number of encounters with police before he was finally arrested in December of 1978. Jeffrey Dahmer was allowed to go free after police determined that a 14-year-old boy who was found naked and bleeding on the street was involved in a “domestic squabble” with Dahmer. Within the hour, that boy was dead.
Then there’s Rodney Alcala, who in 1978 appeared as a contestant on “The Dating Game” in the midst of a killing spree.
Alcala’s moment in the television spotlight is the foundation for the fictionalized version of events depicted in the dark, unsettling and powerfully effective Netflix original film “Woman of the Hour.” This is one of the best crime thrillers in recent years, with Anna Kendrick demonstrating a strong set of storytelling skills and a keen eye for period-piece visuals in her directorial debut, while also turning in one of her career-best performances as the “bachelorette” who unknowingly chooses Alcala as her “dream date.”
Kendrick and screenwriter Ian McDonald frame “Woman of the Hour” as two different kinds of movies that eventually intersect on that TV soundstage. In a time-hopping story that is filmed utilizing ominous colors of burnt orange and reds and greens a la David Fincher’s films, we follow the predatory and terrifying Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto, oozing smarmy, menacing wannabe-charisma) as he commits a series of murders across multiple states.
The first scene of the film takes place in Wyoming in 1977 and starts with a lens-within-a-lens perspective, as Alcala photographs a young woman named Sarah (Kelley Jakle, a “Pitch Perfect” co-star of Kendrick’s). “Just be yourself,” says Alcala as he clicks away. “Tell me about yourself. … What brings you to Wyoming?” He is making a record of the moments just before he ends Sarah’s life in brutal fashion. (Another murder that takes place in New York City will remind you of a certain sequence in “The Silence of the Lambs.”)
The second “movie” within the movie is a biting social commentary in which Kendrick’s Sheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress, is faced with sexism — sometimes relatively subtle, sometimes obvious and boorish — on multiple fronts. At an audition, two leering, sexist creeps crack wise about Sheryl’s age. When she tells them nudity “is just not for me,” one of them replies, “I’m sure they’re fine.” Even Sheryl’s putative nice-guy neighbor and fellow aspiring actor (Pete Holmes) blocks Sheryl’s path with his bulk and feigns best-buddy empathy before he makes his move.
When Sheryl receives an offer to appear on “The Dating Game,” she reluctantly accepts, hoping the exposure will lead to legitimate acting opportunities. (A number of highly recognizable names, including Farrah Fawcett and Tom Selleck, actually did appear on the show before becoming famous.) The production design and costuming are spot-on as we follow Sheryl to the unglamorous studio, where the unctuous (and fictional) host Ed Burke (Tony Hale) presides over the tacky proceedings.
When Sheryl turns the tables on the sexist and innuendo-laced line of questions prepared for her and takes control of the moment, Burke is repulsed by her independence — and the long-haired, handsome and relatively quick Alcala, aka “Bachelor No. 3,” distinguishes himself from the two creeps seated next to him and becomes Sheryl’s choice.
In a construct that feels a bit contrived but still packs a dramatic punch, a woman named Laura (Nicolette Robinson) is in the audience and recognizes Alcala as the man she believes killed her friend. Laura’s claims are dismissed by a security guard on the lot who plays a cruel practical joke on her, and by police; as a Black woman, she faces even more misogyny and is treated even less seriously than Sheryl.
“Woman of the Hour” is filled with expertly filmed and harrowing sequences, as when a teenage runaway named Amy (Autumn Best, outstanding) uses Alcala’s pathetic neediness against him after he has viciously assaulted her. A scene in the immediate aftermath of “The Dating Game” has Alcala waiting for Sheryl in the parking lot and the two of them going on a kind of ad hoc first date, with Sheryl quickly realizing this man is dangerous, and she must figure out how to calibrate her interactions with him in order to literally escape the moment. This is a consistently chilling story, made all the more terrifying because we know it’s true.