*Warning: Contains spoilers for Woman of the Hour*
Netflix’s latest true crime release sees the real story of Rodney Alcala and some of his horrific crimes retold.
In the movie, Alcala appears on a US game show in the midst of his killing spree. This plotline is based on improbable real events, with Anna Kendrick portraying Cheryl, the bachelorette who unknowingly agreed to go on a date with a serial killer.
Scenes, including the unsettling final one, are all based on actual murders and assaults committed by Alcala, who would later become known as The Dating Game Killer, reports the Mirror.
But what exactly transpires in the conclusion of Woman of the Hour? Which of Alcala’s victims does it portray? And what really occurred after the credits rolled? Here’s everything you need to know.
The character of Amy, portrayed by Autumn Best, is introduced relatively early in the film, with her journey’s end serving as the film’s climax. She is depicted as homeless, pilfering change from a laundromat, and it isn’t long before she encounters Daniel Zovatto’s Rodney.
About three quarters into the film, Rodney has persuaded her to let him photograph her, and they drive to an isolated location. The setting and situation eerily mirror the film’s opening scene. By the film’s final moments, Amy has been brutally attacked both physically and sexually, with her jeans left around her ankles in a haunting image.
While the credits identify her as Amy, the character is actually modelled on Monique Hoyt. Hoyt was a 15 year old hitchhiker who Alcala picked up in 1979, a year after his appearance on The Dating Game.
In reality, he took her to his flat where he assaulted her before taking her to an isolated mountain area and attacking her again, striking her head with a rock. As depicted in the film, she did indeed manage to escape when Alcala entered a petrol station toilet, and she reported the incident to the police.
However, the film concludes with police descending on Rodney’s location and forcefully arresting him. It’s unclear where he was arrested, but it’s not thought to have happened so swiftly.
The film ends with text on screen confirming that the murderer was back on the streets shortly afterwards. What it omits is that his mother posted his bail.
The final image of the film is a chilling one, as Amy, one of only a handful of Alcala’s victims who survived, takes a sudden breath. Even after the credits roll, Alcala’s vile acts were far from over. He killed at least twice more following the events depicted in the final scene.
First was Jill Marie Parenteau, 21, in June 1979, who didn’t show up for work the day after attending a baseball game. Her body was discovered in her flat, and Alcala cut himself crawling through a window.
A week on, Alcala murdered 12 year old Robin Samsoe who vanished while cycling home from her ballet class on a borrowed bike. Her body was discovered in the Los Angeles foothills 12 days post-attack, having been beaten and stabbed.
Friends of Samsoe informed the police that a stranger had approached them offering to take photos prior to her disappearance. A sketch was drawn up and recognised by Alcala’s parole officer. On this occasion, he was apprehended and detained without bail.
Alcala would ultimately be handed three death sentences for his heinous acts in 1980, 1986 and 2010.
Woman of the Hour is available to stream on Netflix now