In “Woman of the Hour,” Anna Kendrick faces a serial killer

Our cultural obsession with serial killers is proving hard to kill.

From The Silence of the Lambs to Psycho and from Netflix's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story to Mindhunter, films and television shows continue to explore the dark depths of the insane spirits that hunt and haunt those around them.

Well, Anna Kendrick has had enough of that, thank you very much. That's why her “Woman of the Hour” (on Netflix Friday), which also marks her directorial debut, focuses not on Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), a disturbingly prolific serial killer caught in 1979, but on some of the 100 or more more women whose lives he shortened.

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“When I look at the entirety of this story, it makes me angry,” Kendrick tells USA TODAY. “This film is about how all these women (Alcala was killed) tried to live their lives and stay safe but couldn't because the culture wasn't designed to support them.”

Although Woman of the Hour is based on Alcala's story, many of the characters are composites or stand-ins for the real women he victimized. In each case, they have been let down by the men in their lives, be they friends or security guards.

The end result: Not only did Alcala escape justice for a decade, he also managed – incredibly – to become a successful bachelor on the popular 1970s TV show “The Dating Game.”

For Kendrick, a culture that not only failed women but also allowed a predator to stalk his victim on national television was the perfect film project after making a name for itself “for its musical frenzy.” (that would be “Pitch Perfect”).

“My position is obvious not that all men are terrible,” she says, noting that in her film no man helps the women Alcala persecuted. “But in the 1970s these men were certainly representatives of those who held power.”

“Veep” star Tony Hale plays a sexist game show host in “Woman of the Hour.”

One of them is Ed, the fictional version of the “Dating Game” host played by Tony Hale (“Veep,” “Arrested Development”). Ed is sexist and dismissive of Sheryl (Kendrick), an aspiring actress and “Bachelorette” who asks three hidden bachelors a series of inane questions before choosing one for an all-expenses-paid date.

“I decided to portray him in a very distant way,” says Hale. “Obviously the way this guy treated women offstage was terrible, but then it bleeded into his onstage persona in a way that just made me really sad. I really appreciate how Anna approached this. You don't see any glorification of a series here. “For me, Rodney is the B storyline.”

Each woman in the film possesses an innate beauty, intelligence and resilience when confronted with Alcala's seductive, albeit deadly, charm.

“True crime is a genre that fascinates many of us, myself included, but what struck me about this film was its focus on the lives that were taken,” says Kathryn Gallagher, who plays Charlie, a flight attendant from New York a victim of his fake photographer rap (“You’re really beautiful,” he repeats).

Gallagher said she was sent the script while renting a house alone in a rural part of Ireland. “I had true crime out there on my mind,” she says. “When I saw that Anna was directing this, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.”

Autumn Best came forward just as quickly as Amy, a young victim who is particularly vulnerable as a runaway. When the murderer takes her to a promised photo shoot in the desert, the ensuing attack leads to one of the most impressive scenes in the film.

Best says that while her scenes were dark, Kendrick kept the mood light by playing upbeat music between takes. “Anna just started singing and dancing and we joined in, which really helped,” she says.

The young actress says Kendrick also insisted she wasn't shy about her disability: Best was born with only one thumb on her left hand. Some viewers may notice, while others will continue to focus on Best's intense performance.

“I was so grateful to her because it makes me a lot more uncomfortable when people act like it's not there,” says Best. “For me, it's just a fact of my life.”

Anna Kendrick says the film highlights the dangers women face every day

Kendrick demurs when she's told that “Woman of the Hour” feels like her salute to all types of women: teenage runaways, working professionals, backstage crew and best friends. They are there for each other, but often fail because of the inherent gender power imbalance (you don't often hear about female serial killers overpowering male victims).

“I suppose that’s true,” she says. “For me it was about… how could we go from a really pleasant interaction between a woman and a man to suddenly me wondering if I was even safe? And I think people experience that to varying degrees and in different ways, possibly every day of their lives.”

Kendrick, who just finished filming a sequel to 2018's “A Simple Favor,” is eager to find another project to direct. But it has to tick a lot of boxes. “I have to feel passionate about it,” she says.

She might even star in the film. This comes with a big built-in plus point that she experienced on “Woman of the Hour.”

“I would have been a lot more worried if someone other than me had played Sheryl and had to cajole or cajole her into possibly doing strange things,” she says. “So yeah, having the lead actress on the same page with the director, that was great.”

“Veep” star Tony Hale plays a sexist game show host in “Woman of the Hour.”

Anna Kendrick says the film highlights the dangers women face every day

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