Serial Killers & Inspiring Documentaries: At The Movies With Kasey
Woman of the Hour draws inspiration from the real-life crimes of Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game in 1978, during his murder spree. Anna Kendrick plays Sheryl, an aspiring actress who gets an easy gig appearing on an episode of The Dating Game. Bachelor #1 (Matt Visser) and Bachelor #2 (Jedidiah Goodacre) give her little to work with, but she strikes up a banter with Bachelor #3, Rodney (Daniel Zovatto). How could she know how dangerous he is? Tony Hale appears as Ed, the game show host. Nicolette Robinson plays Laura, an audience member with alarming suspicions about Rodney, and Autumn Best plays Amy, a young runaway he picks up.
Being a woman can be scary. The fears that underscore many dating experiences ratchet up the tension in this well-paced, skillfully framed story. As the narrative shifts between The Dating Game and Rodney’s crimes, the tonal changes between Sheryl’s playful barbs and Rodney’s bursts of violence move closer to each other, creating a deep sense of foreboding. When the comedy gives way to Sheryl’s intuition sounding an alarm, the result is stomach-turning. Kendrick and Autumn Best both skillfully portray the emotional calculations women make opposite Daniel Zovatto’s unsettling depiction of Rodney.
Although the film deviates from true events, in her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick clearly intended to honor the victims and those who got away while also striving to paint a broader picture about fear and vulnerability, making Woman of the Hour a chilling, compelling true crime narrative. And Kendrick donated her pay for the film to RAINN and the National Center for Victims of Crime.
Woman of the Hour was written by Ian McDonald and directed by Anna Kendrick. It runs 95 minutes and is rated R.
Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap has arrived on Max. I missed this one in theaters and was excited for its streaming debut, even though I had low expectations. Since his early string of hits, Shyamalan has struggled to live up to the standard he set. Trap is no exception. The movie focuses on Cooper (Josh Hartnett), a serial killer who takes his teenage daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) concert, only to find that the event has been staged as a trap to catch him and put his crimes to an end.
The first hour of Trap holds together well, establishing the stakes and developing Cooper as a character through his interactions with his daughter and his deception of employees at the concert venue. Josh Hartnett skillfully achieves one of my favorite acting tricks—slipping into intentionally bad acting to depict his character, who is not an actor, acting. The cat-and-mouse game of it all is entertaining and the narrative constraints work effectively. Ariel Donoghue is sweet and charming as the unassuming teen daughter, and I did not even mind that Shyamalan cast his own daughter as the pop star.
Eventually, Trap busts out of its own established confines and starts to feel like when my young daughter tells a story: “And then…and then…and then…” There are too many twists and the production starts to lose its luster. By then, I was having a good enough time watching it all unfold to care much, but to say it is well-written would be a stretch. Considering Lady Raven’s similarity to Taylor Swift and the relatively bloodless story, I do think Trap would be a fun thriller to watch with a teen, enjoying the genre with them without some of the more gory or racy elements common to these films. Just don’t expect it to be The Sixth Sense.
Trap runs 105 minutes, rated PG-13.
If you are looking for a pallet cleanser from thrillers and horrors, Disney+ has two new documentaries that offer inside looks at friendship, music, and treacherous climbs. Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, directed by Thom Zimney, follows the production of an epic tour Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band went on, celebrating their decades of work together and the fans who made them a success. There is plenty of nostalgia at work in the documentary, but also reflections on aging, music, and community. The ethos of joy that went into the tour comes through in both the music and the interviews, making it a fun watch.
In partnership with National Geographic, The Devil’s Climb follows two friends, Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell as they prepare to climb the treacherous Devil’s Thumb in Alaska. The film was written by Drew Pulley, who directed with Renan Ozturk, and features incredible drone shots of the icy rock formations alongside an intimate portrayal of friendship and the trust between two climbing partners. I am afraid of heights, so I found this doc terrifying and beautiful. The details of the terrain and the sport of climbing alongside the human element of the expedition make it a great choice for both sports and nature enthusiasts.
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