Woman of the Hour
Netflix | Release Date: October 11, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comMarya E. GatesOct 18, 2024
Kendrick has made a slick ’70s-set thriller about a serial killer whose reign of terror lasted a decade. Read full review
100
Original-CinLiz BraunOct 10, 2024
This is an auspicious directing debut for Kendrick. Woman of the Hour has a big impact and may prompt viewers to search out more information about the Rodney Alcala case. It will certainly inspire some viewers to thread their car keys through their knuckles on the walk back to the car afterward. Read full review
90
Screen DailyRobert DanielsSep 10, 2023
Kendrick’s measured approach pushes against genre expectations — which will no doubt disappoint viewers accustomed to streamable docuseries. Yet that makes her film an assured subversion which elicits both engrossing chills and surprising humor. Read full review
88
Washington PostTy BurrOct 18, 2024
How do you make a movie about this story? Do you spin it as a thriller, a true-crime drama, a horror film, a sick pop-culture joke? Actress Anna Kendrick, making her debut as a director, does something fascinating. She juggles all four and then adds a fifth layer undergirding the others: the unceasing dread that comes from being a woman who knows men like Rodney Alcala are out there. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 18, 2024
This is one of the best crime thrillers in recent years, with Anna Kendrick demonstrating a strong set of storytelling skills and a keen eye for period-piece visuals in her directorial debut, while also turning in one of her career-best performances as the “bachelorette” who unknowingly chooses Alcala as her “dream date.” Read full review
85
The Daily BeastNick SchagerSep 10, 2023
A true-crime thriller that also operates as a damning commentary on societal misogyny—especially in Hollywood—it’s as chillingly sharp and canny as its deranged fiend. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJason BaileySep 10, 2023
Kendrick leans more into the dark comedy and general dread of the situation, winding the picture tighter the deeper she goes, and her work here is ambitious and impressive. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeOct 21, 2024
Kendrick’s knack for capturing period detail goes beyond the psychedelic synthetics and kipper ties. She taps into the treacherous sexism that was hardwired into the entertainment industry and wider culture of the time, both of which are shown to be minefields of fragile male egos and potential violence. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 18, 2024
Woman of the Hour may be sensational, in the tabloid sense, but it is angry, too, and full of questions. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyOct 16, 2024
Kendrick proves herself a formidable talent on both sides of the camera. The timeline can be choppy, but this is as considered as it is chilling. Read full review
80
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariOct 10, 2024
[Kendrick] delivers a taut thriller that’s also a sharp critique of the casual misogyny women face. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt MaytumSep 14, 2023
This is an acutely observed, well-judged, and original take on a popular genre. That it’s also a directorial debut is extremely impressive. Read full review
80
SlashfilmRafael MotamayorSep 13, 2023
Kendrick's directorial debut shows both confidence and great promise, crafting a disturbing tale, and a chilling examination of casual misogyny and violence towards women. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 10, 2023
It’s a fascinating and frightening stranger-than-fiction tale and is an unusual choice for Kendrick’s directorial debut. She makes a convincing first-time film-maker, capturing the feel of a time and a number of places with ease. Read full review
79
TheWrapSteve PondSep 10, 2023
Kendrick manages to make her film both weirdly entertaining and thoroughly disturbing. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 18, 2024
In Woman of the Hour, an infamous piece of ’70s serial killer lore becomes a suspenseful and disheartening thriller in the hands of director and star Anna Kendrick. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubAnna McKibbinOct 18, 2024
This is a self-assured take on a story that stretches far, wide, and deep. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleOct 17, 2024
Woman of the Hour will surely send many looking up this stranger-than-fiction story. But Kendrick’s achievement is in capturing, from a woman’s point of view, just how hard it can be to pick a serial killer out of an all-male line-up. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla MeyerOct 16, 2024
Woman of the Hour, Anna Kendrick’s tense, insightful directing debut, re-centers the narrative on Alcala’s victims and the rampant misogyny that suffused the 1970s. Read full review
75
ColliderRoss BonaimeSep 11, 2023
Woman of the Hour is a tight, smartly handled thriller that may stumble at times with its thematic ideas, but wins you over with its deft handling behind the camera. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiSep 10, 2023
Hollywood loves nothing more than a true-crime story about a serial killer, but a new movie directed by Anna Kendrick does a number on that familiar genre. Read full review
75
The Film StageJordan RaupSep 10, 2023
Woman of the Hour likely won’t be the last re-telling of this shocking tale, but it’s hard to imagine a more perceptive take than the one Anna Kendrick provides. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearOct 18, 2024
Please welcome to the stage Anne Kendrick, Genre Auteur! Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredFrancisca TinocoOct 17, 2024
Anna Kendrick's directorial debut offers a refreshing twist on a tried and true formula by contextualizing a serial killer's wrath within the crueler misogynistic traditions that enable it. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonOct 17, 2024
As a drama, Woman of the Hour is effective and infuriating. Read full review
70
VoxAlissa WilkinsonSep 27, 2023
What Kendrick’s film smartly weaves into the narrative is the many ways in which women are conditioned to put up with men because, as the saying goes, they’re afraid of being killed. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 14, 2023
Despite Woman of the Hour’s sometimes shaky execution, its story is undeniably powerful. Read full review
67
IndieWireKatie RifeSep 10, 2023
Kendrick’s image as an actor isn’t necessarily tied to dark, edgy material, but as a director she shows a talent for staging scenes of Hitchcockian suspense alongside her signature wit. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 22, 2024
It’s a promising debut for Kenrick behind the camera and Zovatto is excellent in front of it but it’s hard to shake the incomplete feeling that accompanies a viewing. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 25, 2024
None of this quite counts as stop-the-presses stuff in the present day, but it’s enough to make this a sharp debut, with a shivery undertow. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 21, 2024
The whole film feels a bit too careful: composed but also more than a little academic. Read full review
60
The IndependentAnnabel NugentOct 18, 2024
The takeaway from Woman of the Hour is that this is not the story of an individual evil, but mass complicity from a society that allowed Alcala to continue his reign of terror far longer than it should’ve. Read full review
60
EmpireElla KempOct 16, 2024
Woman Of The Hour isn’t the serial-killer thriller you’d expect, but more noble for it. Kendrick shows promise as a director, her lacklustre male antagonist hammering home this film’s purpose. Read full review
60
Paste MagazineKatarina DocalovichSep 12, 2023
The Dating Game plot is strong, and while it is a rather freaky piece of trivia, it is more of a footnote in Alcala’s murder spree than the entire story. Read full review
60
Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonSep 11, 2023
While showing good potential overall, Kendrick’s directorial debut is hindered by tonal imbalances and poor editing. Read full review
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