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A trailer for Woman of the Hour, a gripping movie on Netflix directed by Anna Kendrick and featuring her-flies-the-flag, has become prominent. This is Kendrick’s directional debut, making it one of the year’s most-awaited releases. The film is set against a backdrop of 1970s Los Angeles and will present the gripping and chilling true story of a budding actress whose life became intertwined with that of the serial killer during a taping of The Dating Game.

The logline for the film teases, “A stranger-than-fiction story featuring an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles and a serial killer amid a yearslong murder spree, whose lives intersect when they’re cast in an episode of The Dating Game.” The high-stakes premise is likely to offer a promising burst of buzz, an exceedingly tense and exciting journey due to the strange paths on which the characters would end up meeting or crossing in rather interesting and unexpected ways.

Anna Kendrick, an actress best known for her roles in films such as Twilight and the Pitch Perfect series, sits in the director’s chair, marking her first foray into directing with Woman of the Hour. She has worked on a large number of projects, such as Up in the Air (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), 50/50 (2011), Drinking Buddies (2013), and A Simple Favorite (2018), amongst a few others. Apart from directing and acting, Kendrick has also shown some very impressive versatility in playing both behind and in front of the camera.

Woman of the Hour features a stellar ensemble of actors and would see Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Pete Holmes, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher, and Kelley Jakle join Kendrick. Their performances would lift the already scintillating story to a level high enough to create a tense and unpredictable atmosphere.

Ian McDonald wrote the screenplay, under Kendrick’s guiding vision in bringing this moving story to life. McDonald and Kendrick’s co-executive produced the film, in tandem with executive producers Stuart Ford, Zach Garrett, Miguel A. Palos, Jr., Joe Penna, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Paul Barbeau, Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Andrew Deane, and Stephen Crawford. Among the team are producers Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz, and Raphael Margules.

Following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024, Woman of the Hour received positive reviews and acknowledgment of Kendrick’s directing style and the tense storytelling in the film.

Netflix users can eagerly stream Woman of the Hour when it premieres on October 18, 2024.

Watch the Woman of the Hour trailer below.

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