That simply cannot be true” is the reaction many will have to the narrative centerpiece of Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, “Woman of the Hour.” And yet: On a 1978 episode of “The Dating Game,” one of the “eligible bachelors” was a serial killer in the midst of a murder spree.

Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor, a.k.a. Rodney Alcala, was born on Aug. 23, 1943, in San Antonio, Tex. He spent part of his childhood in Mexico before his family moved to Los Angeles. Alcala joined the army at age 17 but was discharged in 1964 following allegations of sexual misconduct and a nervous breakdown.

Anna Kendrick’s ‘’Woman of the Hour’’ is a sometimes awkwardly plotted but consistently insightful thriller about the anxiety of the female experience.

The haunting true story of Seventies killer Rodney Alcala is given the Netflix treatment – but it’s a touch too glossy to feel genuine

Anna Kendrick is making her directorial debut with 'Woman of the Hour.' See all the red carpet arrivals at the L.A. premiere of the crime thriller.

Hollywood doesn’t exactly have a surplus of prominent female directors, so it's exciting to see actor Anna Kendrick making her directorial debut with “Woman of the Hour.” Landing on Netflix this week after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September,

"Something about that just ruined me," Kendrick says of her research for the true-crime thriller. Woman of the Hour's dark subject matter took a toll on its star and first-time director. Anna Kendrick makes her directorial debut with the Netflix true-crime thriller,