Netflix presents a new compelling narrative with its true-crime thriller, ‘Hour of the Woman,’ based on the eerie life events of the famed 1970s serial killer, Rodney Alcala. Perhaps what’s most peculiar about Alcala’s sinister chronicle is his ability to blend into society unnoticed, while maintaining a gruesome killing spree that lasted for several years. Intriguingly, he managed to get on the popular TV show, ‘The Dating Game,’ which forms a significant subplot in the film. ‘Hour of the Woman’ masterfully unwraps this surreal occurrence of the ‘Dating Game Killer’ meeting Cheryl Bradshaw, a bachelorette on the show, while still managing to elude the hands of the law.
Critics have lauded ‘Hour of the Woman’ owing to its potently riveting narrative, which offers an ‘intriguing yet haunting story that seems too bizarre to be true.’ The movie’s ability to narrate Alcala’s shocking story in a powerful and emotional context makes it worthy of acclaim. To truly grasp the essence of the movie, it’s important to understand the gruesome real events that inspired it.
The horrific tale that ‘Hour of the Woman’ seeks to tell is based on Rodney Alcala’s real-life exploits. The infamous sex offender is attributed with the murder of a confirmed count of seven females in the US spanning from 1971 to 1979; the youngest victim tragically being only 12 years old. Nevertheless, law enforcement officers estimate that the real tally of victims could potentially surpass 130 individuals.
Alcala, during his time, was a professional photographer, a profession he unapologetically exploited to facilitate his heinous deeds. He preyed on unsuspecting victims, promising to take their pictures, and consequently leading them to their untimely end. A defining trait of his modus operandi was the act of strangulating his victims recurrently in order to extend their torment. He also kept his victims’ earrings, a chilling souvenir of his murderous rampages.
Alcala’s horrendous crime spree originated in 1968 where his first known offense constituted the rape of a young eight-year-old girl. His conviction led him to serve a 34-month sentence. However, prison time did nothing to deter Alcala, and his killing spree continued unabated.
In an unsettling twist of irony, the serial killer managed to get a spot on ‘The Dating Game,’ a TV show synonymous with ‘Blind Date,’ during 1978. Alcala, introduced as ‘Bachelor No. 1,’ presented himself as an adventurous guy who enjoyed activities like skydiving and riding motorcycles. His charisma evidently worked on Cheryl Bradshaw, the show’s bachelorette, as he was declared the winning bachelor.
Bradshaw, however, decided against proceeding with the date. ‘Hour of the Woman’ starkly features a dramatized depiction of Alcala’s unnerving interaction with mainstream television. The narrative took a creative liberty by having Alcala direct his own set of questions towards the bachelorettes, straying away from the script of ‘The Dating Game.’,
Alcala’s creative intrusion is followed up by a fictitious date with Bradshaw that eventuates into a car park disagreement, a sequence absent in actual history. These fabricated elements of the plotline, however, serve to add depth and, simultaneously, underline the casual terror that hung around Alcala’s presence.
The movie integrates the story of an escapee victim of Alcala who later stands as crucial evidence against him. The character is designed to echo a real-life victim who managed to evade the grim fate following her violation by Alcala, and bravely testified against him in trial.
While the movie does introduce these dramatized incidents, they do not disregard the core purpose of the narrative. ‘Hour of the Woman’ offers crucial commentary on broader societal ills such as misogynistic violence, victim-blaming culture, and the systematic failings that enabled Alcala to sustain his reign of terror for so long.
The legal ordeal of Alcala was no less dramatic than his dreadful exploits. He was served a death sentence twice, in 1980 and again in 1986, for his heinous crimes. His freedom was temporary and followed by another stint on the death-row in 2010.
Alcala’s final death-row conviction was a result of new DNA evidence that directly linked him to five murders committed in the state of California. Despite evading the law for years, Alcala eventually ended up in prison, where he spent his remaining years.
The ‘Dating Game Killer,’ as Alcala was often referred to, died naturally in prison at 77 years of age, while he was waiting for his execution. His death marked the end of his chilling chapter of criminal history, one that has since been documented in numerous ways, including through the compelling narrative of ‘Hour of the Woman.’