Netflix Woman of the Hour director fought for 'terrifying' opening scene

Netflix's forthcoming thriller, Woman of the Hour, is based on the chilling real-life tale of a serial killer who discovered his next potential victim on a 1970s dating show - and the director has just disclosed that she had to battle for its audacious opening scene to be included.

Anna Kendrick, star of Pitch Perfect, both directs and stars in the crime drama, which revolves around aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick), who featured on the blind dating programme The Dating Game, in 1978.

As a bachelorette on the episode, Cheryl picked to have a date with Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who later earned the moniker of the Dating Game Killer. She subsequently declined to go on a date with the bachelor due to his 'creepy' demeanour.

Prior to his appearance on the show, Alcala had already committed several murders, and he continued his killing spree post his TV stint. He was eventually convicted of seven murders across two states, although it is suspected that he committed more.

The film zeroes in on the near fatal episode of The Dating Game and commences with a scene portraying the horrific murder of one of Alcala's victims. Despite catching the attention of some critics, Kendrick has recently revealed that the opening scene was nearly omitted from the film, reports the Mirror.

In a candid chat with Digital Spy, she confessed that she had to stand her ground regarding the film's first scene: "I was frankly shocked with myself for being so firm. I think I said something along the lines of, 'If it's really important to you guys that the movie open in a nightclub and have a certain feeling, that's fine, but I don't know how to make that movie'."

She continued: "I was like, 'I can't believe I'm saying this. This is like