Anna Kendrick recently got real about her film that recently premiered at TIFF. That would be Alice, Darling, which is a darker project than we’re used to seeing from the Oscar nominee. The film revolves around emotional abuse, and while we usually see Anna in lighter (or at least punchier) fare, don’t expect her to brighten up right away. Instead, she’s about to make her directorial debut in the true crime genre. Kendrick is also set to star in The Dating Game, which is based upon a real-life horror story.
The film is so-named for the infamous 1970s show that preceded the likes of FBoy Island and Dated and Related. And certainly, no reality-based story like The Bachelorette wants anything truly unsavory to happen, so vetting processes attempt to leave no stone unturned. However, something particularly awful slipped through the cracks on The Dating Show, and serial killer Rodney Alcaca ended up landing in the dating pool. He was a dubious charmer, and here’s a CBS News clip that noted his death (from natural causes while on death row) in 2021.
The story’s a fascinating one, and The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Anna-attached project launched a bidding frenzy at TIFF. International sales poured in as well, and fortunately, the female bachelorette (Cheryl Bradshaw) who chose Alcaca did get out alive. The fact that she lived could partially be down to luck, given that Alcaca was a prolific murderer who reportedly took 130+ lives. He frequently posed as a photographer in order to charm women into dating him. A chilling portfolio of the 200+ women that he photographed could lend further clues to other (still undiscovered) crimes, although the public jury’s still out on that note.
Don’t expect a rom com out of this project, for sure. The Dating Game will use a blacklisted script from Ian McDonald and will no doubt target the same audience who’s been rabidly devouring projects like Netflix’s Dahmer, which has already reached the all-time top list for the streamer. No set release date for The Dating Game exists as of yet, but those who find serial-killer content to be irresistible will be waiting.