“Woman of the Hour” is a new Netflix release, directed by and starring Anna Kendrick. Rated R, this film is overall scary and gets your heart pounding. It’s one hour and 29 minutes in length.
Based on a true story, an actress makes a last attempt at Hollywood and goes on “The Dating Show.” However, things take a turn when she matches with a contestant, who’s a serial killer.
In 1978, aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw went on “The Dating Show” in an attempt to get noticed. Little did she know she would choose a contestant who is a serial killer.
She’d face danger in the form of Rodney Alcala.
Alcala was a notorious serial killer who toyed with his victims.
He charmed them, got them in an isolated area and killed them. Sometimes he would strangle them until they lost consciousness and then wait till they woke back up, repeating these violent actions.
“Woman of the Hour” uses the story of Bradshaw as one of the many victim stories to showcase the scary truth of the story of Alcala.
The film takes advantage of flashbacks and different time frames to show different victims of Alcala, not just Bradshaw.
These flashbacks beautifully show how dangerous Alcala is and how anyone in any place could have been a target.
“I never hide who I am”
Rodney Alcala – “Woman of the Hour”
When speaking with Bradshaw, Alcala says, “I never hide who I am.” This quickly becomes ironic as he does hide the fact that he’s a serial killer, and she’s in danger. However, when looked at deeper it can be seen how there are hints to his despicable ways.
Alcala’s actor Daniel Zovatto creates this balance of innocence and evil within his character. He uses facial expressions as a way to show how there are two sides to Alcala and when the victims become in danger.
There are moments where Zovatto showed Alcala’s charming, nice facade and then like a light switch, the facade falls to this angry, dangerous look in his eyes.
This flip of emotion is truly terrifying because that’s when the audience can see something is wrong.
Kendrick made her debut as a director with this film and it quickly became a success as it reached the number one movie on Netflix within a week of being released. She highlighted her excitement with this opportunity on her Instagram letting her fans know how grateful she is.
Kendrick’s use of camera cuts, views and dynamics all play into how the characters are feeling. Making use of these camera tricks, the audience is able to better see and feel all the emotions the characters are going through, especially fear.
Kelley Jakle, Kathryn Gallagher, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best and Kendrick all play victims of Alcala. They all beautifully show the raw fear of being stuck in a bad situation. Once they realize they’re in danger, their emotion is portrayed so well that even the audience can feel their fear.
All these ladies deserve a round of applause for acting out such traumatic events. They showed the true danger women may face when alone with a strange man.
“Woman of the Hour” captures the scariest feeling and moment of a horror story. It’s not the gore or the killing or even the villains themselves.
It’s the feeling someone gets when they know something is off. That bone-chilling, heart-racing feeling in the pit of your stomach when something feels not right. The feeling someone gets when they know they are in danger.
“Woman of the Hour” is highly recommended for people who enjoy a creepy story and stories about serial killers.
So grab some popcorn, a warm blanket and a friend to watch this new take on horror with “Woman of the Hour” on Netflix.