January 21, 2025 – I'm not a fan of cute little Anna Kendrick and her teeth, but she does a wonderful job here in her theatrical directing debut and starring role in this crime suspense drama.

The plot of this movie is so crazy that it is based on fact. The movie follows two unrelated people, an aspiring actress, and a serial killer, who meet in 1978 on a popular reality TV show, “The Dating Game.” The actress, Sheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) reluctantly agrees to be on the show to get recognition. Serial killer Rodney Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto of “Don't Breathe”) is so confident in his ability to escape capture, he appears on the nationally televised game show as one of three bachelors, one of whom Bradshaw must choose for a date.

The movie opens with Alcala brutally murdering a woman in Wyoming. His preferred method is to take his victims to a remote location, often photographing them, allegedly for modeling portfolios. He toys with the woman, strangling her, then reviving her and strangling her again. Alcala is sick, but smart (his IQ is estimated at 135) and charming, seemingly friendly and harmless until he attacks. He has killed many women (perhaps over 100) this way.

Bradshaw is considering giving up her dream of becoming an actress. She is not getting any acting jobs and her money is running out. She doesn't like Hollywood all that much. She is thinking about moving back home to Pennsylvania. She reluctantly agrees to be on The Dating Game because the TV exposure might lead to acting jobs.

Meanwhile, Alcala is shown murdering more women. Bradshaw and Alcala finally meet on The Dating Game, where she is seated behind a screen so she can't see the three contestants and they can't see her. Bachelor number one is Josh Young (played by Matt Visser of “Anacoreta”) bachelor number two is Arnie Aslan (Jedidiah Goodacre of “Finding You”) and bachelor number three is Alcala.

During the game, Alcala and Aslan both think they are going to get the girl and they challenge each other. Alcala shows him a photo of one of his victims, then claims it is a fake, and this unnerves Aslan (who thinks he is a lady killer). Aslan quickly realizes that Alcala is a weirdo. Alcala fools Aslan into giving him his home address, possibly to eliminate him as a possible witness. Alcala tells Aslan, “I always get the girl.”

A woman in the audience, Laura (Nicolette Robinson of “Day of the Fight” recognizes Alcala, from a past encounter, as a murder suspect, and tries to warn the authorities. Meanwhile, Bradshaw has become fed up with the lame questions provided her for the show and makes up her own questions, including an obscure one concerning the ideas of 18th Century German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

Bachelor number one, Young, is completely flummoxed by this line of questioning, Aslan makes some sexist jokes, while Alcala, smooth, confident and charming as ever, gives the best answers. Aslan seems like a bounder, but in the end, he whispers a valuable warning to Bradshaw about Alcala, “Careful with that asshole.”

Bradshaw and Alcala meet for drinks after the show, and gradually Bradshaw gets the distinct feeling that there is something wrong underneath Alcala's surface charm. Soon after, she sees the real danger in Alcala's volatile personality. More is revealed when Laura tries to alert the police about Alcala, and more yet is revealed when Alcala takes a runaway teen, Amy (Autumn Best) into the desert.

Anna Kendrick and writer Ian McDonald (Some Freaks) expertly build tension by switching scenes back and forth between The Dating Game show and Alcala's attacks. This is a difficult narrative structure to pull off, but it works very well in this movie. Daniel Zovatto's chilling performance as the serial killer is key to this movie's success. He really nails it. The rest of the cast is strong too.

Kendrick shows real talent in this, her first time in the movie director's chair. Best known for “Up in the Air” and the “Pitch Perfect” movies, her acting performance here is more of the same. The character of Bradshaw is right in her wheelhouse. What's new is her performance as a director, which is something else. This movie rates a B+.

Here is some trivia, The Dating Game was a Chuck Barris production. Chuck Barris himself was the subject of an off-the-wall movie, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (2002) that is even crazier than this one. The character surname Aslan (bachelor number two) in this movie is the same as that of the talking lion representing God in C.S. Lewis' “Chronicles of Narnia” series of books and movies.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2024 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at