A NEW Netflix thriller based on real life serial killer Rodney Alcala who tortured his victims has left viewers shaken by his ‘horrific’ crimes.

Netflix fans are raving about Woman of The Hour starring Anna Kendrick, based on the true crime story of a serial killer who appeared on a dating show.

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Tony Hale as Ed the show’s host introducing Anna Kendrick as Cheryl in Woman of the Hour.Credit: Leah Gallo/Netflix

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Matt Visser as Bachelor #1 (Josh), Jedidiah Goodacre as Bachelor #2 (Arnie) and Daniel Zovatto as Rodney in Woman of the Hour.Credit: Leah Gallo/Netflix

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The real Rodney James Alcala who was handed the death penalty for the slaying of 12 year-old Robin Samsoe in 1979.Credit: Getty
The film launched on October 18 and has shot to number one on Netflix as fans rushed to see how the shocking true crime drama unfolded.

Set in the 70s, the thriller follows Cheryl (played by Kendrick) an aspiring actress who appears on a dating show and is matched with a serial killer.

Fans have taken to social media to praise the film – which marks Kendrick’s directorial debut – saying that it shines a light on the victims.

“Giving victims a story, letting us know who these women were, was such a beautiful touch. One of my favorite dives into fictionalized true crime,” wrote one on X.

But fans are shaken by the killer’s horrific deeds.

Another tweeted: “ #WomanOfTheHour is based on a true life serial killer. I had no idea. Now, it is even creepier. I ended up looking the case up & frankly, the way he was allowed to rape & murder girls & women over & over again-2 while out on bail…wth?!!!…horrifying.”

A fellow viewer wrote: “Watch this #Womanofthehour Gripping, powerful film of a horrific man’s brutality, seemingly enabled by a lack of Police interest.”

The story is based on a real-life story about serial killer Rodney Alcala who appeared on the US dating series The Dating Game in 1978.

Cheryl Bradshaw was an out of work actress and not really looking for a date but her agent said it was a good way to get her face seen on TV.

Rodney was matched on the show with Cheryl during the middle of his killing spree, earning him the nickname The Dating Game killer.

The serial killer murdered his first victim in 1977 and killed five more people over the next two years, with his spree estimated to have taken place over 11 years from 1968 until 1979.

He was sentenced to death in California but spent his life in prison for five murders. There are suspicions that the true number he murdered could be in the hundreds.

Acala died in California in 2021 from natural causes at the age of 77.