“Woman of the Hour” is the directorial debut of popular actress Anna Kendrick. The film is based on the crazy true story of a woman’s near-miss encounter with serial killer Rodney Alcala, who is somehow selected as a contestant on the once-popular TV show “The Dating Game” in 1979.

Alcala had already murdered several women and a child but continued to elude law enforcement by changing his name and moving around the country. Kendrick also stars in the film as struggling actress Sheryl Bradshaw, who joins “The Dating Game” at the urging of her agent to “get seen.”

Alcala is portrayed with the requisite equal parts infatuation and confusion by Costa Rican actor Daniel Zovatto, and as he does with each of his victims, he convinces Sheryl to choose him as her date. Fortunately for Sheryl, an awkward conversation with Alcala after the show leads her to cancel their date.

Kendrick effectively weaves multiple timelines of Alcala’s other attacks while tracking Sheryl’s development on the show. This unique approach heightens the suspense and tension of the interactions between the characters, despite knowing the outcome.

A stellar supporting cast and gorgeous camerawork, framing each attack in urban, western and coastal landscapes, elevate Kendrick’s film far above the typical serial killer profiling that too often caters to our voyeuristic curiosities. Kendrick instead focuses on the dangers women face in cases that range from a simple conversation to deciding to trust someone enough to accompany them to an isolated location.

While Kendrick takes some unnecessary liberties to make a point and curiously omits how two curious girls in upstate New York helped capture Alcala, who was finally listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Poster, Kendrick delivers a unique take on chronicling a serial killer. She wisely deprives the audience of gruesome depictions of the attacks, focusing instead on the heartbreakingly emotional moments when trust turns to fear in seconds.

So on my ski trail rating system, “Woman of the Hour” gets my highest rating for BLACK DIAMOND ski trails. Breaking away from the Netflix crowd of mediocrity, Kendrick delivers an entertaining crime thriller that serves as a stunning indictment of the pervasive sexism that allowed a predator to evade capture far longer than it should have.

After debuting at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, “Woman of the Hour” playing exclusively on Netflix with an effective runtime of one hour and thirty-five minutes, the film has been rated R for language, violence, sexual references and brain-damaged bachelors.