The Chilling True Story of Netflix's Woman of the Hour

MsMojo

The true crime movie of the hour. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re unpacking the true story behind the shocking serial-killer flick, “Woman of the Hour.”

Transcript

00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're unpacking the true story

00:04behind the shocking serial killer flick,

00:06Woman of the Hour.

00:08I don't date much. I don't date at all, actually.

00:12But you decided to go to the dating game.

00:14In a 1978 episode of The Dating Game,

00:17in which a bachelorette questions three bachelors hidden behind a wall,

00:21Cheryl Bradshaw took the stage to find her perfect match.

00:25Seated on the other side was Rodney Alcala,

00:28intent on proving he was the one for her.

00:30However, Alcala had far more sinister intentions than just scoring a date,

00:36which would all come to light soon after.

00:38So what really took place during that infamous taping?

00:42What was behind Alcala's eerie smile?

00:44And how close to reality is Woman of the Hour?

00:47Whether it's for a minute or for an hour,

00:51I'd like to sit relatively close to a special girl.

00:55Here's everything you need to know about the dating game killer

00:58and the woman who strayed into his path.

01:02Woman of the Hour

01:04The film Woman of the Hour serves as Anna Kendrick's directorial debut

01:08and covers the crimes of serial killer Rodney Alcala.

01:12Though authorities believe he may have claimed upwards of 130 victims,

01:17the story focuses on one who got away.

01:20Kendrick stars as Cheryl Bradshaw.

01:23So this is Cheryl.

01:24Yeah, hi.

01:25While the main draw is certainly the terror of Alcala's acts,

01:29the story largely takes place from Cheryl's perspective.

01:33There's so much light on her, and very little light on you.

01:36You can't really read his intentions.

01:38Though Kendrick acknowledges that many aspects of the narrative

01:42are fictionalized, the details of the real case

01:44are as harrowing as they are inconceivable.

01:47If you have this narcissistic character,

01:49and suddenly someone turns him down,

01:51I think he takes his revenge on women in general.

01:54Women as a group.

01:55Anyone becomes fair play.

01:58Rodney Alcala's Backstory

02:01Alcala had a fairly transient childhood,

02:03being moved from place to place after his father abandoned their family.

02:08He was discharged from the army as a young man

02:10when he was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder,

02:14a characteristic ascribed to many other notorious serial killers.

02:18What it refers to, behaviorally,

02:21is someone who does not have a conscience,

02:23does not have remorse,

02:25does not feel a sense of guilt about most of the bad things they do,

02:29is impulsive and violent.

02:31As early as the 60s, Rodney began to get in trouble with the law.

02:35He was even added to the FBI's Most Wanted list

02:38after evading capture in a violent crime involving a young girl.

02:42After eventually being caught and serving 34 months,

02:46he was forced to register as an offender.

02:49Interestingly, he was even considered a person of interest

02:52in the case of the Hillside Strangler murders.

02:55Though he was cleared of those crimes,

02:57he had already been racking up his own body count.

03:00He was re-arrested for another lesser assault after his release.

03:04When he was let out again,

03:05he would resume his cross-state killing spree.

03:09He knows how to sound genuine,

03:11so he's a very accomplished predator.

03:13He sniffs out his prey, identifies their vulnerabilities,

03:16and moves in for the kill.

03:18Bachelor Number One

03:20Shockingly, background checks were simply not a major part

03:22of the casting process in the 70s,

03:25meaning Alcala's dirt stayed buried.

03:27While most serial killers attempt to blend in or keep a low profile,

03:32Alcala boldly projected himself into the spotlight

03:34by both auditioning for and then participating

03:38in an episode of The Dating Game.

03:40He's introduced as a photographer,

03:42a key detail that would come up much later

03:44when police found photos of women believed

03:47to be his victims in his possession.

03:49There are dozens upon dozens of these young women

03:52that in the pictures clearly are in positions

03:54of supreme vulnerability with Rodney Alcala.

03:58Throughout the episode,

03:59Alcala drones on about how much he enjoys the nighttime.

04:02Nighttime's when it really gets good.

04:04Does an impression of a dirty old man.

04:06Come on over here.

04:10And compares himself to a banana waiting to be peeled.

04:13Peel me.

04:15In the end, Cheryl actually chooses Alcala to be her date.

04:19Of course, no one knew that he had already taken several lives

04:23before taking that coveted seat.

04:25Fortunately for Cheryl,

04:27she picked up on his unnerving energy

04:29and backed out of the Magic Mountain theme park date

04:32they'd won together.

04:33This decision could have very well saved her life,

04:36but many others weren't as lucky.

04:38Getting Away With Murder

04:40Between the 60s and 80s,

04:42targets, mostly women and children,

04:45were incredibly vulnerable.

04:47Stranger danger was not as prevalent,

04:49and it was common for young people to roam the world

04:51with fewer precautions.

04:53Police work and forensic science

04:55were not nearly as advanced as they are today,

04:58allowing perpetrators to carry out their slayings

05:00for greater periods of time.

05:02All of these elements worked in Alcala's favor

05:05as his murders occurred throughout the 70s.

05:08His M.O. involved luring unsuspecting victims

05:11to remote locations or to his home photography studio,

05:15where he would carry out unthinkable acts.

05:17She's bound, she's held.

05:20There's something stuffed in her mouth,

05:21obviously to keep her from screaming.

05:23He was largely motivated

05:24by a dominating sexual gratification

05:27and toyed with victims he viewed as prey.

05:30One of the biggest factors in Alcala's ability

05:32to carry out so many murders

05:34was the gender dynamics at play.

05:36At the time, women who pointed out red flags

05:39or even reported instances of abuse at his hands

05:42were effectively dismissed.

05:44Others were too scared to come forward.

05:46This is highlighted in the film, Woman of the Hour,

05:49as Alcala is portrayed as incessantly sleazy,

05:52yet somehow charming enough to manipulate women

05:54into defenseless positions.

05:56You're beautiful, okay?

05:58It's fine.

06:00This presentation lines up

06:02with how producers actually felt about him.

06:04He struck me as strange.

06:07There was an odd, creepy quality about the guy.

06:10He was just very attractive,

06:12and me and my assistants were like,

06:14yes, this guy has to be on.

06:16In the film, an audience member recognizes Alcala

06:19as someone last seen with a friend who'd vanished,

06:22but she isn't allowed to speak to anyone of authority.

06:25Look, I don't know who you spoke with, all right?

06:29I don't know who I spoke with either.

06:30How many times, you forget.

06:33In the real world,

06:34other women who escaped Alcala's clutches

06:36have come forward to express

06:38how they were attacked by him multiple times.

06:41Rod got into the driver's seat and just took off.

06:46He kept looking up in the rear view mirror

06:49and just with this weird look on his face.

06:51Alcala's undoing.

06:53Alcala's crimes would finally come to light

06:55when an officer recognized him from a police sketch.

06:59He was arrested in July of 1979,

07:02and his disturbing collection of victim photographs

07:04was uncovered.

07:05Police found physical evidence

07:07tying him to the murder scene of Robin Samso.

07:10He was tried and found guilty in 1980.

07:13Alcala was sentenced to death,

07:15and while he sat on death row,

07:17police tied his DNA to several more crimes

07:19around the country.

07:21He was placed at the scene of at least eight murders,

07:23though the true count is likely far higher.

07:26We realized that not only is Rodney Alcala

07:28a vicious murderer in our case,

07:30but in fact, he is the serial killer

07:32that we always suspected him to be.

07:34In July of 2021,

07:36Alcala died in prison of natural causes

07:38at the age of 77.

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07:56Kendrick's vision.

07:58This is not the first time

07:59the dating game killer's story

08:01is being told on screen.

08:03Although the sickening true story

08:04is now receiving a glossy Hollywood makeover,

08:07Kendrick has been clear

08:08that one of her primary goals

08:09was to spotlight the women's experiences,

08:12something that was accomplished

08:13not just with the writing,

08:15but with the cinematography.

08:16I knew I wanted to give that sense of

08:18no escape in the visuals.

08:21There's no one around.

08:22This person could basically close the distance

08:25before Cheryl could even get out of the frame.

08:27It's also telling that the film

08:28focuses on sexism within Hollywood,

08:31a real life issue that's picked apart

08:32in one scene where Kendrick

08:34is judged harshly by casting directors.

08:37That's it, she seems angry.

08:38What about her look?

08:40It's okay.

08:41Kendrick was initially set

08:42to just star in the film,

08:44but when the director had to back out,

08:45she felt strongly enough about the material

08:47that she decided to take the helm.

08:49The film received largely positive reviews,

08:52setting it apart from some of the

08:54smutty true crime entries

08:55that have flooded the market lately.

08:57Woman of the Hour pinpoints

08:59how women in this era

09:00had to effectively coach themselves

09:02to accept a man's point of view,

09:04even when it was unnerving.

09:05No matter what words they use,

09:07the question beneath the question

09:08remains the same.

09:10What's the question?

09:11Which one of you will hurt me?

09:12Today, a movement toward listening to

09:15and believing women,

09:16which has roots in Hollywood,

09:18has made the tragic stories

09:19behind Alcala's victims

09:20even more heartbreaking.

09:22If our modern zeitgeist is the answer

09:25to the historic culture

09:26of deprioritizing women's experiences,

09:28it's important to not only reflect

09:30on how far we've come,

09:32but to continue learning

09:33and remembering the dark places

09:35we came from.

09:37Check out this other recent clip

09:38from Ms. Mojo,

09:39and be sure to subscribe

09:40and ring the bell

09:41to be notified about our latest videos.

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