Statistically, they say the average person passes by about 36 murderers in their lifetime. You never know what’s going to happen. Years ago, when I was still working at the Wagoner Tribune, I read a police report on a man arrested in nearby Coweta, Okla. that said he had considered abducting a woman near the bank. But thought differently.
It turns out that woman ended up being one of my colleagues at the Coweta American who had their office across the street from the bank. The man went on to abduct and assault another person. It’s a crazy thought that we all come so close to being a murder victim but never really know it. Some killers do it as crimes of passion. Someone gets mad at another person they know and kills them. Usually, it’s a family member or a partner. Most of the murder cases I covered were like that.
I went to school with four people who killed people and are spending the rest of their lives in prison. In Americus, Ga., I covered a killer’s escape from jail, manhunt and arrest. He later got convicted after I left. I was told that he sent a letter to the Americus Times-Recorder wishing me well wherever I was.
I’ve covered too many murder cases and even sat a few feet away from some in the court. I was safe. So was everyone else in the courtroom. There were county sheriff deputies. Also, these people weren’t the types who would go nuts and go on a killing spree. Most serial killers have types. Ted Bundy had women who resembled a woman who rejected him in his youth. John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer targeted young men. It’s believed David Berkowitz targeted brunettes that women in New York City bleached their hair blonde to avoid getting killed.
But Rodney Alcala seemed to target both women and men, just anyone who seemed fascinated by his love of photography. In Women of the Hour, he’s played creepily by Daniel Zovatto. But this is a different story than the other biopics about serial killers. You see, Alcala became famous for his appearance on The Dating Game on Sept. 13, 1978. He was one of the bachelors who was a contestant on the show. What’s even more odd is he was selected by Cheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick).
However, she managed to trust her women intuition and stay away from him. The notion Alcala was using a popular TV game show to hunt is very, very disturbing. Kendrick makes her directorial debut with this movie, currently streaming on Netflix, and it’s the type of movie a woman director needs to helm. It’s also the type of movie an actress Kendrick needs to helm.
In her early 20s, Kendrick appeared in the popular Twilight franchise and then found herself co-starring with George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air. Along with Farmiga, she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. This brought with her the chance to appear in Pitch Perfect and its sequels as well as the Trolls franchise. With her pretty smile and those white teeth, she seems to have a natural beauty and Girl Next Door look that has probably kept her from other roles.
She probably has gone through what the real Cheryl Bradshaw went through by casting agents and directors telling her she wasn’t what they’re looking for. Cheryl is a struggling actress in Los Angeles who can’t catch a break. And she’s skeptical about appearing on The Dating Game especially with how misogynistic and racist the show’s host Ed Burke (Tony Hale) acts. Even though the way the game show hosts are always jerks in these might be a tired trope, but I wouldn’t doubt it’s not far from reality.
Kendrick also stages the few times we see Alcada commit his crimes with the consideration and sensitivity not to exploit it. I can almost see where a man as director would decide more blood is needed. Alcada was known to strangle his victims and then revive them only to strangle them here, which is shown. But just seeing the aftermath of Alcada’s crimes is all you need. And thankfully, any sexual assaults are left off screen and with a young woman waking up seeing her pants are near her ankles. Less is more sometimes.
The movie does fudge the facts for dramatic effects. Nicollete Robinson plays a young woman, Laura, who attends the taping and recognizes Alcada. This didn’t happen in real life. It’s implied she was a friend of one of his victims. This is used to show how people, mostly men, didn’t take women seriously when they reported sexual assaults or violence against them. Even Laura’s boyfriend doubts her.
In the past few years, it’s been well noted how Kendricks was in a long-term relationship with a partner believed to be cinematographer Ben Richardson who was emotionally abusive. She appeared in a the 2022 psychological thriller Alice, Daring where she played the titular character who was in a similar relationship. Cheryl seems to be a character who seems to gullible at times. One of her friends, Terry (Pete Holmes), is also a neighbor who possibly is only close to her because he wants to be with her sexually.
But this is obviously to set up an interaction later between her and Alcada. A lot of people might think The Dating Game was garbage but how much do you really know about someone unless you go on a date with them. Since this era, we have shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Blind Date and Love Connection as well as others. We’re kinda obsessed with it as a society.
But The Dating Game was always supposed to be a male-dominated spectacle as Cheryl reads dull, boring and safe questions only to change it up to Burke’s chagrin. This makes one of the bachelor’s look foolish with every answer he gives. On screen, none of the men were good for her. But at least the second one does warn her about Alcada. And even though the one-on-one dates were supervised in real life, that doesn’t mean Alcada won’t present a nice side before his bad side comes out.
With all his victims including the teenage runaway, Amy (Autumn Best), he at first seems charming and nice as he walks around with his camera. But the camera was his ruse. We live in a society now where people have cameras on their phones and they’re way better than the digital cameras I was using in college and on my first job.
I always asked to take pictures and identified myself. However, I must say, I knew some people who used their jobs for their own vices. Unless it was an important photo, a lot of mine were deleted or purged from the system after so much time. I didn’t want to keep many photos for personal reasons. But I knew some who did and I have to say they had some creepy vibes themselves.
Maybe it’s because they think of a photographer as the “Aw Shucks!” gullibility of Jimmy Olsen they’re willing to pose for a picture, or even be driven out many miles to the middle of nowhere. But all victims noticed a change in Alcada and it’s done so subtle as Kendricks keeps the camera on his face. Predators know how to pick their prey. They’re not going to choose someone who fights back a lot. The best way to do it is to get them when they least expect it.
In real life, it’s been explained that one male producer had concerns about Alcada but his wife, who also worked for the TV show, thought he was handsome enough the women viewers would like him. During this whole time Alcada was on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Lists. Yet, people didn’t have the luxury of the Internet to do a quick Google search as Alcada had previous arrests and convictions which included for the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl.
It would be easy to dismiss this movie by some as having an anti-man and woke agenda. Yet how else are you going to portray someone who like Alcada. He wasn’t Mr. Rogers. But for many women, it hits probably a little too close for comfort.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 