Creepy, shocking crime drama now on Netflix

Roughly a year after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut is now streaming on Netflix. Woman of the hour is a crime thriller based on the true story of a serial killer in the middle of a killing spree and an aspiring actress whose lives intersected in an episode of The dating game in 1978.

The cast includes Anna Kendrick as bachelorette Sheryl Bradshaw and Daniel Zovatto as serial killer Rodney Alcala, as well as Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher, Kelley Jakle and Pete Holmes.

Kendrick originally only planned to appear in the film, but she quickly realized that she was as concerned about the bigger picture as she was about portraying the character. “I really like the complicated journey of a woman who shrinks herself and is very compliant and then manages to rebel and take back some power,” she told Netflix Tudum.

Woman of the hour has an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Financial Times said in his review that it was “alternately entertaining and disturbing.” San Francisco Chronicle called it an “illuminating directorial debut” and THR called it “undeniably powerful.”

Although the response has been mostly positive, some fans are disappointed that the film strays so far from the true story. As vulture explains, “The film virtually glosses over the most frightening aspect of his backstory,” namely that he was arrested multiple times and was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list prior to his appearance The dating game.

Vulture adds: “Woman of the hour admits in an afterword that survivors and other private citizens had been reporting Alcala to law enforcement for a decade, but this after-the-fact treatment almost downplays the sheer magnitude of his previous crimes.”

Woman of the hour is now streaming on Netflix.