The chilling true story behind Netflix's Woman of the Hour

This article contains references to rape and murder

Netflix's latest true-crime thriller Woman of the Hour tells the chilling story of 1970s serial killer Rodney Alcala. The notorious US murderer hid in plain sight during his years-long killing spree, and even appeared as a contestant on TV show The Dating Game.

Directed by Pitch Perfect's Anna Kendrick, the new film explores how the 'Dating Game Killer' crossed paths with bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Kendrick herself) while brazenly evading justice.

Woman of the Hour has already won acclaim from critics, with The Guardian praising its "fascinating and frightening stranger-than-fiction tale" and The Hollywood Reporter saying its story is "undeniably powerful". Here is all you need to know about the real events behind the movie. 

Is Woman of the Hour based on a true story?

Yes, Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of Rodney Alcala, who is portrayed by Daniel Zovatto in the Netflix film.

The serial killer and sex offender murdered at least seven women and girls in the US between 1971 and 1979, the youngest of whom was 12 years old. However, authorities believe that he may have had around 130 victims. Retired detective Steve Hodel referred to Alcala as a "killing machine".

Alcala, who was a professional photographer, lured his victims by offering to take their pictures. He repeatedly strangled them to prolong their suffering and took their earrings as 'trophies'. His crime spree began in 1968 when he beat and raped an eight-year-old girl, Tali Shapiro, for which he served 34 months in prison.

Jeff Sheaman, a Wyoming detective who interviewed Alcala, told the New York Times that the killer was "the most cold person" and warned that "there might be a ton of other victims out there".

When did Rodney Alcala appear on The Dating Game?

The serial killer took part in The Dating Game, a Blind Date-style TV show, in 1978. He was a "self-styled playboy", according to the LA Times, and his infamous appearance led to him later being nicknamed the 'Dating Game Killer'.

Alcala was introduced to viewers as 'Bachelor No. 1', a contestant whose hobbies included skydiving and motorbiking. He performed an unnerving impression of a "dirty old man", and gave innuendo-laden answers. When asked what food he would be, he said: "I'm called 'The banana' and I look really good. Peel me."

He won a date with the show's bachelorette, Cheryl Bradshaw, who had no idea of his dark secret. But she pulled out of the date when she met him face-to-face, a decision which may have saved her life. "I started to feel ill," she told the Sunday Telegraph in 2012. "He was acting really creepy. I turned down his offer. I didn't want to see him again."

Jed Mills, another bachelor from the same episode, said Alcala was "kind of good-looking but kind of creepy... He was always looking down and not making eye contact." Former prosecutor Matt Murphy said Alcala's decision to go on TV during his killing spree reflected his "narcissism", "ego" and "arrogance".

Which parts of the film were fictionalised?

Woman of the Hour includes a dramatised recreation of Alcala's unsettling brush with the limelight, with screenwriter Ian McDonald taking some artistic licence.

Director Kendrick plays the film's fictionalised version of Bradshaw, an aspiring actor in 1970s LA. The spelling of her first name is changed from Cheryl to Sheryl for the film.

Unlike the real Bradshaw, the character goes off-script on The Dating Game by asking the bachelors her own questions. She then goes on an date with Alcala, which results in an altercation in a car park, an incident that never happened in reality.

"Sheryl is the most fictionalised piece of the movie," Kendrick said. "There's very little public information about the real person, so our Sheryl's life before The Dating Game is basically an imagined version of a woman in the 1970s."

The character of Amy, one of Alcala's victims, was based on Monique Hoyt, who managed to escape after he raped her, and later testified against him. The dating show's fictional host, Ed Burke, is based on the real-life presenter Jim Lange.

Watch the trailer for Woman of the Hour

One character created just for the film is Laura, a friend of one of Alcala's victims, who recognises the killer while the episode is being filmed.

Despite these embellishments, Kendrick's movie explores wider societal issues such as misogynic violence and victim-blaming, and the system that allowed the killer to escape justice for years.

"Laura really functions as kind of a representation of all the people that tried to raise the alarm and were ignored," Kendrick told Netflix's Tudum. "There are so many heroes in this story, but the heroes were outnumbered and outgunned by incompetence and negligence and a culture that did not prioritise victims."

She added: "I'm not really interested in the real Rodney. I was more interested in trying to depict the kind of experience that we are more likely to have."

What happened to Rodney Alcala?

Alcala was sentenced to death for his crimes on two occasions, in 1980 and 1986, though both verdicts were overturned.

He was placed on death row again in 2010 after new DNA evidence connected him to five murders committed in California. After the verdict, police released more than 100 photos of young women and girls that Alcala had taken, in an attempt to link him to other unsolved murders.

He died in prison from natural causes in 2021, aged 77, while awaiting execution. "The planet is a better place without him, that's for sure," Shapiro said after his death was announced. "It's a long time coming, but he's got his karma."

Sheaman added: "He's where he needs to be, and I'm sure that's in hell."

Woman of the Hour is out on Netflix now