Worth Mentioning - Every Father's Nightmare

We watch several movies a week. Every Friday, we'll talk a little about some of the movies we watched that we felt were Worth Mentioning.

Killers real and fictional.

WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2023)

Rodney Alcala was academically gifted, with an estimated IQ of 135. He was an athlete. He was reasonably popular. He served in the military. And he was a really bad guy, with a mixture of mental illnesses and personality defects that made it so he found enjoyment in the act of assaulting and murdering women.  He has been linked to and convicted of eight murders and some sexual assaults – but there’s suspicion that his number of victims could be as high as 130. But even though he spent over a decade attacking women - and even though he had served prison sentences for assault and molestation, and was even listed as one of the FBI’s Most Wanted at one point - that didn’t stop Alcala from being a contestant on The Dating Game in 1978. And he even won the competition!

Directed by Anna Kendrick, making her feature directorial debut, from a screenplay written by Ian McDonald, Woman of the Hour digs into the bizarre story of “that time a serial killer was on The Dating Game.” Kendrick herself plays aspiring actress and Dating Game bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw, with a good portion of the film’s 94 minute running time follows Bradshaw’s journey to The Dating Game, the filming of the show, Bradshaw being charmed by Alcala when he’s on the other side of the stage from her – and then the creepy evening she and Alcala spend together. While telling Bradshaw’s story, the film also jumps back and forth in time, showing just what sort of person Alcala is. We see how creeped out people can become while interacting with him. We see how charming he can be when he’s putting on a front... and we see how dangerous he can be when he drops the act. 

Woman of the Hour features a few different scenes where Alcala is shown attacking women. The killer liked to toy with his victims, strangling them into unconsciousness, waiting for them to regain consciousness, then starting the process all over again. Apparently he would sometimes do this several times before going all the way with the strangulation. This is demonstrated in one scene, while others turn away from the worst acts of violence. Presenting murders in a movie that’s based on an actual crime case is a delicate balance; you don’t want to glorify these acts or be disrespectful to the people who lost their lives (or to the families they left behind). Kendrick did a good job of walking that line, making sure not to show too much. The attack scenes are never there as entertainment. They’re shocking and disturbing.

Kendrick did a great job with her directorial debut, and Daniel Zovatto turns in a great performance as Alcala, showing a great range as the character shifts from friendly to nasty. I’m not a big fan of many movies that were inspired real killers; I prefer fictional stories, as true crime is too troubling for me. But this is a very good movie about a very bad person and some of the people who had the bad luck of crossing paths with him.

DEXTER SEASON FOUR (2009)

As I’ve said, I prefer my serial killer stories to be fictional – and one piece of fictional serial killer entertainment I’m enjoying much more than I expected to is the Showtime series Dexter, which I’m catching up on years after the initial run went off the air. I’ve just made my way through the fourth season of the show – and season 4 may have been the best one so far.

While Jimmy Smits rightfully earned an Emmy nomination for his fascinating performance as Miguel Prado in season 3, in season 4 we’re introduced to John Lithgow’s character Arthur Mitchell – and Lithgow not only received an Emmy nomination for his performance here, he also took home the award. It makes sense, because Lithgow managed to make Arthur another fascinating character... and a completely despicable one. When we first see Arthur, he comes off as a total madman. There seems to be no way that this guy could function in society... But then comes the reveal that he actually functions in society quite well. He is able to put on a great mask of sanity, hiding his true nature behind the fact that he’s a family man, charitable, and a church deacon. Somehow, he balances what appears to be a normal life with his hobby of killing people – and he has killed a whole lot of people. He is the murderer that former FBI agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine, returning from season 2) has nicknamed the Trinity Killer, because he seems to kill in cycles of three, and he has been doing this all across the country for decades, racking up an astounding number of victims.

The FBI doesn’t support Lundy’s theory, so when the Trinity Killer appears to strike in Miami, he goes to the city to do some investigating of his own. In the process, he reunites with his former love, Miami homicide detective Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter) – and also with the title character, blood-splatter analyst Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), Deb’s adoptive brother. Unbeknownst to those around him, including his wife Rita (Julie Benz) and their kids, Dexter also happens to be a serial killer... but he’s one with a code. He does not kill innocent people. Instead, he kills murderers. Which makes the Trinity Killer a big target for him. He’s able to figure out the identity of the killer long before his co-workers at the Miami Police Department. Viewers have seen Dexter take down many murderers quickly and efficiently by this point in the show... but when he reaches Arthur Mitchell, he hesitates.

Dexter holds off on killing Arthur because he sees that he’s a family man, and Dexter himself is currently struggling to balance his home life and the serial killer side of his life. So he decides to hang out with Arthur a bit, using a fake identity, and study the guy. How does he make the balance work so well?

Season 4 is a season where Dexter screws up a lot and in some big ways, and his biggest mistake is not killing Arthur the first chance he gets. The longer Arthur lives, the more troublesome and formidable he becomes, and it’s very interesting to watch Dexter try to deal with this extremely dangerous person. Among Dexter fans, season 4 is apparently the most popular choice for their favorite season of the show... and while I haven’t seen what follows (yet), I can understand why. This is a season that would be difficult to top, especially since this one marks the departure of the original showrunner. But I will continue on, as I’m eager to see what’s going to happen to Dexter next.