Review: Reality and fame converge in 'Dating Game Killer'
Posted Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 1:45 PM Central
by John Couture
Without a doubt, I have a soft spot in my heart for true crime stories. By looking at the proliferation of true crime podcasts and the recent capture of the Golden State Killer, it's obvious that I'm not the only one.
With the advancement of technology, in particular, DNA evidence, we are finally able to shed some light of crimes from a bygone era. Speaking of a bygone era, the late 1970s was a bizarre time and I'm glad that I was too young to remember much from it. Rodney Alcala was a serial killer active during this time, but he was later known by his more catchy moniker Dating Game Killer.
Rodney Alcala was a serial killer active in California during the late 1970s with at least five known victims. He was given the moniker Dating Game Killer after it was discovered that he appeared as a contestant on the popular game show "The Dating Game" during the height of his murderous rampage.
I am officially addicted to Investigation Discovery channel and their non-stop true crime programming. Over the last few years, I have come to learn about many brutal serial killers that I had either forgotten about over the years or never made national news. The Dating Game Killer is one such killer.
Guillermo Diaz was tasked with bringing the killer's complex psychopathy to the screen and he turns in a truly mesmerizing performance. We often forget the absolute terror and brutality of these acts when time and distance enter the equation, but Diaz provides a reminder of Alcala's brutality.
It's also a bit jarring to watch the events of his crimes play out. His M.O. certainly evolved over time, but it's creepy to see him use his camera to seduce his victims with the implied promise of fame and fortune. It was a simpler time back then and technology wasn't as omnipresent as it is today. These films remind us that the best defense against would-be attackers is to be aware of your surroundings.
There are several scenes where Alcala simply gains access to his victims' bedrooms by an unlocked window. Today, not only would those windows be locked, but there would be a motion detector and glass breakage detection device on them to enhance the occupants' personal safety.
But the late '70s were fertile hunting grounds for killers to prey on their quarry and the full extent of their wrath is still unknown. For instance, while there are at least five known Alcala victims, there are probably many, many more out there. He collected a portfolio over 1,000 pictures of potential victims, many of them teenage boys and girls, in sexually explicit or compromising poses.
It is assumed that an untold number of rape, assault, and murder victims are among these images, but most of them are too explicit to share with the public. So, we may ever truly know the number of people that Rodney Alcala, but we do know that a sadistic killer was finally taken off the streets thanks, in part, to the advancement of technology.
As a narcissist with sexual sadism psychopathy, appearing on "The Dating Game" only fueled his destructive personality. There's one particular scene in the film where he approaches two women on the dance floor to brag about his appearance on the game show only to be derided and dissed. Later, we see Alcala channeling this rejection into a brutal killing.
It's clear that Alcala enjoyed the brief notoriety of being on the game show and it's chilling to think what his psychosis would have manifested in today's instant celebrity society. I think it's safe to say that the results would not have been ideal.
Dating Game Killer is now available on DVD.
