So, I watched this movie and Don’t Move (2024) in the same day. Both were about serial killers and both were very very different. I found Don’t Move (2024) to be more of a thriller and this movie was more of just… a story I guess? This isn’t me saying it was bad. This is just me saying that I thought it would be something different, but it’s more or less just telling the story of Rodney Acala with a few gory scenes mixed in. 

So, we have the scenes with Cheryl (Anna Kendrick) as she tries to become an actress. She agrees to go on a raunchy dating show where she encounter an active serial killer, Rodney Acala (Daniel Zovatto). Both of the real life actors for this movie did a superb job, especially Daniel Zovatto. He changed his face in a way that seriously made you think his eyes were dead and pure murder was in his heart. He was scary. Then we also have scenes with Rodney in past years as he murdered women (I read up about him after watching this movie, and thank God they didn’t include when he almost murdered an 8 year old. I don’t think I could’ve handled that). Other than these two, the only other character that stood out was Amy (Autumn Best). The fact that she was based on the real runaway who escaped (I don’t want to tell you how, but holy cow the way she did it was ingenious and definitely saved her life). 

The plot was kind of all over the place since you have two different timelines, and I honestly got so confused even though they were showing which years each murder occurred. Like I basically had to rewind to figure out if we were going forwards or backwards. The only one I could really follow was the dating show timeline, and I realized at the end of the movie that Cheryl’s timeline isn’t present day because of what happens with Rodney in the following scene after Cheryl’s story wraps up. Honestly I was just confused the whole entire time when it comes to what was what year and what was supposed to be happening in the “now” 😂. This, in turn, made the pacing honestly really slow to me. 

Overall, this was an okay movie. I wasn’t super invested like I usually am for serial killer movies, but I thought the actresses and actors did a wonderful job despite the fact that I didn’t like the way the script was written for plot. If you want to check out a movie that is sure to spike your blood pressure, check out Don’t Move (2024) or Amber Alert (2024).

Where to Watch: Netflix