The Dating Game Killer (2017 TV Movie) User Reviews

Too much jumping around in time but still interesting

[phd_travel · 6/10 · 13 January 2018]

The events span a long period of time from the 60s to 2010. The makers of the TV movie for some strange reason decided to tell the tale in a fragmented manner jumping around a lot in time. It's clear when they do it - unfortunately it leaves some unanswered questions and bewilders the viewer unnecessarily and breaks up the tension of the movie.

Guillermo Diaz of Scandal is good as the crazy killer who slipped through the cracks of the system so many times. The tale is tragic because of the failures of the system that a convicted rapist could have been out to commit so many more crimes. The failure of the system and the unresolved nature of some of his crimes makes this story less neat than Bundy and Gacy. Probably that explains why Rodney Alcala isn't that much of a household name despite having a larger possible victim count. It's frustrating but realistic how hard it was to prove crimes he was suspected of and the unreliability of witnesses. Carrie Preston of the Good Wife is effective in her few scenes as mother of one of the victims.

Decent true crime movie

[johngmurray-57968 · 7/10 · 17 July 2021]

A lot of people thought this was really bad,I disagree. It's not the best ,but it is a decent movie. Guillermo Diaz,who also executive produced,is good as Rodney Alcala,so is Robert Knepper as the determined detective who pursues him over the years,but the standout is Carrie Preston as the young victim's grieving mother. The scene where she is going to kill Alcala in court with a gun but is stopped by her daughter's spirit is riveting.

Some embarassing acting on show!

[asd29 · 5/10 · 14 April 2019]

This movie could have been a hell of a lot better if it had better actors and more money put into it- this movie was made for tv i know, but the movie is just amateurish and shoddy and i hope the main actor- the cop doesnt think he put in an oscar winning performance for this , he acts like hes not going to get paid for been in the movie or something, but to be fair all the actors in this were poor , especially jack black who plays 😜 serial killer rodney alcala! Im not an actor im a baker! You better believe it lol

Horrible acting and writing... intriguing story

[brandonstiles · 2/10 · 11 February 2020]

The acting and writing are terrible in this one.

I feel like this is how a robot would write a movie script if its creator let it watch 7-10 B mystery movies, then gave it a typewriter and said "Do your best!"

If they'd just earned a nickel everytime the actors rattled off a terrible cliché or exposition, the production probably could have at least hired a better wig artist to outfit the guy who plays Alcala.

Speaking of which, they made the killer a weird mix between Chris Farley and Meatloaf. He looks like your dad dressed up like the drummer from an 80s cover band, then showed up at your school to embarrass you in front of your friends.

It's too bad because this is such a fascinating story that I wanted to learn more about.

2 stars though because - while terrible - it delivers a few good (albeit unintentional) laughs as it wanders into the abyss of awfulness.

Favorite scene is the mom, showering in the dark, crying into and sniffing her daughter's new lemon shampoo bottle after she goes missing. Bizarre.

Embarrassingly Bad, Simply Terrible

[alanadel2002 · 1/10 · 8 December 2017]

If you have a medical something license and some time to kill - you might find this one of the funniest things you've ever seen. I wish I had the former but I don't, nevertheless this "movie" made me laugh out loud involuntarily several times. I do not enjoy saying negative things, and I genuinely feel sorry for all those who were involved in this bungled attempt. It's a wonderfully rare - so bad it's hilarious one. Every cliché, from writing to acting is thrown in here for good measure, but to such an extent that you won't be able to help alternating between groaning, putting your head in you hands in despair, rolling your eyes, and finally just giving in and giggling all the way to the most absurdly written and poorly acted courtroom finale you will have ever seen. If you remember the scene in 'Bananas' when Woody Allen acts as his own lawyer and switches between his lawyer persona and his witness persona whilst jumping in and out of the witness box for comic effect, well the same happens in this film but comedy, whilst not the intention, is definitely the result. The lead actor is so awful it's practically unbelievable. And he's not alone, oh no, he is matched by everyone else in the cast. So, either miss this completely, which would prob be a very sensible move, or, I refer you back to the first sentence in this review. Get some friends round, and work out a shot game for every time you see one of the absurdly portrayed detectives says, "Damn it! He got away again!" You will be completely wasted.

Quality Casting But Very Cheesy Docudrama

[cjohnsen-561-709510 · 3/10 · 12 January 2020]

I started watching on ID thinking it was a true crime doc. It turns out it is a re-enactment docudrama. The casting is very good but the writing just doesn't cut it, leaving the actors seeming rather stiff and at times, so bad that it's almost unintentionally funny. I gave it three stars for the good job done with costume design, set design, and locations to emulate the 70's vibe.

Wth

[sdphilburn-460-781211 · 1/10 · 3 May 2020]

This is just horrible! I mean how do you go from True Blood to this? They couldn't afford a snack table I bet! ID Network bad show