Anna Kendrick’s Date Sets Off Alarm Bells in Unsettling ‘Woman of the Hour’ Trailer
In Netflix’s upcoming film Woman of the Hour, the aspiring actress Sheryl Bradshaw wants nothing more than to have a spotlight of her own. Portrayed by Anna Kendrick in her directorial debut, she finally gets that shot when she’s cast on an episode of the Seventies blind-dating show The Dating Game. But lurking in the shadows is a contestant with a dark history: the serial killer Rodney Alcala, who takes Sheryl on an alarmingly unsettling date in the first teaser for the film, out Oct. 18.
In the trailer, Sheryl and Rodney are seated at a dimly lit restaurant on a date that could be going better. His eye contact is a little too intense. His compliments (“I mean, you have this Patti Smith vibration thing going on”) are delivered a little too seriously. And his instinct to order another round of drinks without checking with his date is a little too presumptuous. But it isn’t until they’re leaving the restaurant that the alarm bells in Sheryl’s mind jump from a whisper to a scream.
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While they’re walking through the parking lot, Rodney asks Sheryl to tell him her phone number. She reminds him that she just gave it to him, but he wants to be certain he has the right one. When she offers to glance at it to double-check, he snaps: “You can’t repeat it from memory?” They’re locked into a chilling, silent standoff for a few seconds before her fight or flight instincts kick in, and she starts making her way to her car. Rodney lingers in the background, still sizing up his potential next victim.
Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of Rodney Alcala, known as the Dating Game Killer. Police estimated that Alcala murdered dozens of women during his killing spree, which intersected with his appearance on the once-popular The Dating Game series in 1978.
The film also features appearances from Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher, and Kelley Jakle.
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