WOMAN OF THE HOUR

Active serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) is a contestant on the popular TV show, The Dating Game. Cheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) is the unfortunate lady who happens to pick Rodney as her date, unaware of his dark side. Unfortunately based upon a true story, the film does a great job at making the audience uneasy throughout the film and Zovatto does a great job as Alcala. He's personable and doesn't come off as a creep until it's too late. I'll give Kendrick props in her directorial debut but I'll be honest, I'm not surprised in her portrayal of Bradshaw. Kendrick and a lot of feminist nowadays have to be bad a$$ b*tches in every film. Strong female characters who can do no wrong if it weren't for men. Speaking of which, there's A LOT of 1970's misogyny plus male fragility displayed. I'm tired of the messaging. I'm tired of the preaching. Just entertain me, that's all I ask. In addition, there's a ludicrous subplot involving Nicolette Robinson as Laura, an audience member for the show who recognizes Alcala as having attacked and murdered her friend (or at least she thinks it, the film never confirms if she was indeed one of his victims). The reasoning for this subplot was two fold: give a minority more screen time and also to illustrate police incompetence (especially when it's a black, female who apparently no one seems to take seriously despite her pleas). The film looked better from the trailer but being that it's a Netflix movie, I'm not surprised anymore at the wokeness. 6.5/10