An Odd Job Leads Anna Kendrick to the Dating Game Killer in ‘Woman of the Hour’ Trailer

Anna Kendrick dissects the psychology of a killer in the latest trailer for Woman of the Hour, her forthcoming directorial debut premiering via Netflix on Oct. 18. In the film, the actress portrays aspiring actress Sheryl Bradshaw, whose lack of career opportunities leads her to the once-popular Seventies dating series The Dating Game. Seated behind a divider from the show’s three contestants, she asks each bachelor the same question: “What are girls for?”

Bachelor Number One plays dumb, or maybe he just is, asking: “Uh… what do you mean?” Bachelor Number Two goes on the defensive, responding: “Why does this feel like a trap?” In some ways, it is — but not for any of the men sitting on stage. Bachelor Number Three set the trap himself, and Sheryl was unlucky enough to be led right into it. In the trailer, just as the game is about to begin, a teleprompter reads: “In 1978, a notorious serial killer found his potential next victim on national television.”

Bachelor Number Three is Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), the serial killer who became known as the Dating Game Killer after he murdered dozens of women during his time on the show. Throughout the clip, a number of his victims are introduced. With each, he presents an unassuming demeanor that switches in an instant. There’s always a moment in which you can see the women become wholly aware that they’re in danger, but it’s often too late. From the opening scene of the trailer, in which Sheryl attempts to make a subtle yet swift escape from the killer in a parking lot, there’s hope that she made the realization just in time.

“I really like the complicated journey of a woman who is shrinking herself and being very pleasing and then manages to rebel and take back some power,” Kendrick shared in an interview with Netflix TUDUM. “I love the fact that it isn’t as simple as, ‘Oh, she asserts herself and everything works out great.’ Because this is the bargain we’re making every day: How much do I live authentically, and how much danger does that actually put me in?”
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Kendrick directed the film with a script from screenwriter Ian McDonald. Both spent a significant amount of time falling down the rabbit hole of Alcala’s crimes and the psychology behind his killing sprees. “In true crime circles you’ll sometimes hear people say, ‘Oh yeah, he’s kind of like Ted Bundy,’ ” McDonald said. “But the truth of the matter is, he’s kind of the opposite. Ted Bundy was a chameleon. He was really good at pretending to be something he wasn’t. And Rodney Alcala really seems to have flouted a lot of his worst tendencies. It wasn’t that he was being sneaky, it’s that other people were kind of actively looking the other way.”

Woman of the Hour also features Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher, Kelly Jakle, and Pete Holmes.