Film

Woman of the Hour

Name: Woman of the Hour
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Released: 2024
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson, Jedidiah Goodacre, Autumn Best

Anna Kendrick stars in this 2024 thriller about a real 1978 Dating Game episode where an aspiring actress unknowingly matched with a serial killer. It's tense, smartly constructed, and works both as a procedural and a portrait of a woman navigating predatory systems. For anyone who finds true crime compelling when it has shape and style.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like slow-burn true-crime dramas that stay with the unease of ordinary days and let the menace build in the margins rather than in spectacle.

Skip it if you want a whodunit or a brisk genre ride; this is a slower, bleaker study of a real predator and the era's sexism, its unease rarely released.

What it asks of you: Ninety-five minutes, a measured pace, and steady attention to small unnerving moments rather than big set pieces; it stays patient and grim throughout.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Zodiac2007

Fincher's obsessive hunt for a killer in '70s San Francisco has the same meticulous energy and period texture. It's about how obsession warps everyone it touches, and the real killer matters less than the investigation itself.

But Two and a half hours of procedural detail with an ambiguous ending. If you need narrative resolution and constant momentum, this will feel glacial.

MINDHUNTER2017

Two seasons of the FBI's first criminal profilers developing the science of catching serial killers in the '70s and '80s. Methodical, smart, and deeply interested in how predators think and operate within systems.

But Season 2 loses momentum and the show never got a proper ending. Also quite dark—the casual way these men discuss violence takes a toll.

Memories of Murder2003

A Korean thriller about the hunt for a serial killer during political upheaval. Bong Joon-ho at his most brilliant—patient, tense, and interested in institutional failure and the men chasing ghosts.

But Subtitled, and deliberately unglamorous. The lack of closure will frustrate some, and it's slower than most crime thrillers you've seen.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Woman of the Hour

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Network1976

Both explore how television and entertainment industries exploit real human violence and vulnerability for ratings and spectacle.

Paddy Chayefsky's savage satire about a TV network willing to exploit anything for ratings. It's about how media manufactures and sells reality, even tragedy. The connection: both films are about systems that profit from spectacle—The Dating Game was real TV exploiting a killer.

But Wildly theatrical and written in 1976 rhetoric. If you want subtlety, this will feel like being shouted at for two hours.

The Act2019

Two seasons about real crimes—Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Aileen Wuornos. Genuinely empathetic to its subjects while never excusing what they did. Anchored by extraordinary performances from Joey King and Nicole Kidman.

But Season 2 is much darker and more violent. If you're watching for entertainment rather than understanding, it can feel punishing.

In a Lonely Place1950

Bogart as a volatile screenwriter accused of murder in '50s Hollywood. It's about how systems protect the powerful and crucify the vulnerable, and how suspicion can poison everything. Noir with real teeth.

But Slow burns don't accelerate. If you're coming for a thriller, this is a character study that happens to be dark.

Killing Zoe1993

Absolute fever dream of a film about an American safecracker in Paris, a bank heist, and moral descent. Weird, visceral, and genuinely unpredictable. A deeply strange piece that respects your intelligence.

But Incoherent to some, pretentious to others. If you need plot clarity, this will infuriate you. Also quite violent without warning.

Cruising1980

Friedkin's notorious thriller about an undercover cop hunting a killer in the NYC gay scene. Genuinely disturbing and controversial—it treats transgressive material with seriousness rather than judgment.

But Controversial for good reason. It's bleak, ambiguous, and the politics are complicated. Not a feel-good film and makes no apologies for it.

Snowtown2011

Australian true crime film about a charismatic predator who exploits and radicalizes vulnerable young men. Brutally honest about how manipulation works and how we're groomed into complicity.

But Genuinely harrowing and bleakly nihilistic. One of the hardest watches you can find. Not for people seeking catharsis or hope.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer1986

An essential film about a real killer's mundane cruelty. It strips away glamour entirely—Henry and Otis are just small, damaged men. Refuses to mythologize or exploit. Deeply important.

But Deliberately repulsive and unpleasant. It's made to make you uncomfortable, and it succeeds completely. Not a thriller, not a crime procedural—just witness.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer poster

The 40 Year-Old Virgin2005

Both use a specific historical moment (2005, 1978) to examine how gender, desire, and performance trap ordinary people. One's a thriller, one's a comedy, but they're asking the same questions.

It's a comedy, yes, but Judd Apatow's debut is genuinely about heterosexual anxiety, desire, and how men construct identity around sex. It's kind, unglamorous, and weirdly astute. Anna Kendrick's opposite register entirely—same era obsession, different tone.

But If you think you've seen this, you haven't. It's sentimental where you expect cynicism. Also explicitly sexual in ways some find tedious.