Anna Kendrick’s new Netflix movie, Woman of the Hour, tells the unbelievable true story of Rodney Alcala, aka the Dating Game Killer. This real-life serial killer, who is suspected of murdering as many as 130 people, took a break from his killing spree to appear on a 1978 episode of the game show The Dating Game, where he was chosen as the winning bachelor.
In her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick reimagines that infamous 1978 Dating Game episode, where she stars as the female contestant, Cheryl Bradshaw. She brings to life several of Alcala’s victims, including a 15-year-old hitchhiker who ultimately managed to escape with her life.
Woman of the Hour was written by Ian McDonald, and also stars Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Kathryn Gallagher, Pete Holmes, and Autumn Best. Because the film is based on a true story, the ending comes with those obligatory “where are they now” end-credit title cards. If you got confused, don’t worry—Decider is here to help. Read on for a breakdown of the Woman of the Hour ending explained.
We’re introduced to serial killer Rodney Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto) in Wyoming in 1977, after he’s lured a woman named Sarah (played by Kelley Jakle, based on real-life Alcala victim Christine Thornton) into the wilderness by claiming to be a professional photographer. He murders Sarah by strangling her.
Then we meet our protagonist Sheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick), who is based on the real-life Cheryl Bradshaw who selected Alcala as the winner of The Dating Game in 1978. (Kendrick’s character is spelled “Sheryl” with an “S,” in a somewhat confusing attempt to differentiate the character from the real person.) Kendrick’s version of Bradshaw is an aspiring actress struggling to overcome 1970s sexism to be taken seriously as an actor in Hollywood. She reluctantly accepts a gig as a contestant on The Dating Game, after her agent assures her it will get her “seen.” Of course, it just so happens to be the episode where Alcala appeared as a contestant, in the midst of his California killing spree.
A few moments of that real Dating Game episode were recreated faithfully in the film—including the host’s condescending joke about contestant Cheryl Bradshaw quitting her job as a foot masseuse when her boss asked her to “work her way up.” However, most of the other details surrounding Bradshaw in the movie, and her time on The Dating Game, were invented for the movie. In this fictionalized version of the episode, Sheryl becomes fed up with the sexist questions and starts grilling the bachelors about literature and astronomy. Alcala gives the “best” answers, and Sheryl ultimately picks him as the winner.
Another character invented for the film was Laura, played by Nicolette Robinson, an audience member at The Dating Game who recognizes Alcala as the suspicious man seen with her best friend before she was killed. In reality, Alcala was not recognized by anyone on the game show—or, if he was, we don’t know about it. But in the movie, Laura’s friend Allison is found murdered in her apartment after she spent a night on the beach with Alcala. Allison appears to be based on real-life victim Georgia Marie Wixted. Wixted’s body was found naked and strangled in the bedroom of her Malibu apartment, after a coworker reported her missing to the police. In the movie, Laura attempts to contact the Dating Game producers to let them know what she knows about Alcala, but is not taken seriously, and is therefore unable to report him.
Kendrick intercuts these Dating Game scenes with depictions of Alcala murdering his many victims. This includes Charlie (played by Kathryn Gallagher), a New York woman who asks Alcala to help her move into her apartment. Charlie is based on the real-life victim Cornelia Crilley, a 23-year-old flight attendant murdered by Alcala in her Upper Eastside Manhattan apartment in 1971, by strangling her.
The final real-life victim depicted in the film is 15-year-old Monique Hoyt, who is named “Amy” in the movie, and played by actor Autumn Best. Alcala picks up Amy in his car, and seems to have a deeper connection with her than the other victims—especially after the two bond over having absentee fathers. As he’s done with other victims, Alcala takes Amy to a remote location and assaults her, under the guise of wanting to photograph her.
Back at The Dating Game, Sheryl chooses Rodney as the winner, and agrees to go out for drinks with him after the show. The date starts off fine at first, but then Sheryl starts to pick up on Rodney’s intense, creepy vibes. When he asks for her number at the end of the night, she gives him a fake. After he forces her to reveal that she gave him a fake number, he remarks that they probably won’t be going on their winning date to Carmel together. She responds that no, she’s not going anywhere with him—a nod to the real-life Bradshaw, who reportedly refused to go out with Alcala on their winning date. Alcala advances on Sheryl, as if to attack, but Sheryl is saved when people exit the studio, allowing her to escape.
The end of Woman of the Hour brings us back to the 15-year-old Amy, who wakes up after she’s been assaulted and tied up by Alcala in the desert. Rather than fight back, Amy acts as though nothing is wrong and speaks to Alcala tenderly. She asks him not to tell anyone what happened—implying, cleverly, that she therefore won’t tell anyone about this—and asks to go back to his place. Alcala agrees. He unties her and drives her back into town.
When Alcala stops to use the bathroom at a gas statin, Amy flees to a nearby diner and calls the police. She watches from the diner as Alcala is arrested. This is based on the real the victim, Monique Hoyt, who testified at Alcala’s trial in 2010 that she managed to escape after she was beaten and raped, by convincing Alcala that she wanted to continue the relationship. The movie ends, along with some title cards that explain what happened to Alcala next.
Alcala was arrested after for assaulting Hoyt in 1979, but was released on bail. Alcala was finally arrested for murder a few months later in 1979, for killing 12-year-old Robin Christine Samsoe, whose dumped body was found by authorities in Los Angeles. The girl’s friends told police that before her death she’d been approached by a strange man on the beach. The resulting police sketch was recognized by Alcala’s parole officer, and authorities found Samsoe’s earrings in a locker rented by Alcala.
Alcala went to prison after Samsoe’s murder, but thanks to a string of complicated legal technicalities, he was not properly sentenced until 2010, when he stood trial for five murder charges. In the trial, Alcala acted as his own attorney, and offered a rambled, disjointed, and ineffective defense. He was found guilty of all five counts, and sentenced to death—but his execution was put on hold after the state of California’s 2019 moratorium on the death penalty. A year later, he was charged with two more murders in New York by the Manhattan supreme court, and in 2013, sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
In 2021, Alcala died of natural causes at the age of 77, while he was incarcerated at Corcoran State Prison in California.